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LETTERS FROM THE ARMY 



BY 



B. F. STEVENSON, 



SURGEON TO THE 



TWENTY-SECOND KENTUCKY INFANTRY. 



SMfex / 




CINCINNATI: 

W. E. DIBBLE & CO. 

1884. 






Copyright, 1884, 
By W. E. DIBBLE & CO. 



PRINTED AND BOUND AT 

Aldine Printing Works, 

CINCINNATI. 



DEDICATION. 

TO THE MEMORY OF 

MY BURIED WIFE, 

TO WHOM 

MOST OF THE FOLLOWING LETTERS WERE WRITTEN, 

AND WHO, 

IN ALL THE RELATIONS OF LIFE, 

AS DAUGHTER, SISTER, WIFE, AND MOTHER, 

WAS EVER AND ALWAYS 

KIND, TENDER, GENTLE, AND AFFECTIONATE, 

IS THIS LITTLE VOLUME 

MOST REVERENTLY DEDICATED, 

BY THE AUTHOR. 



PREFACE. 

" Of making many books there is no end," saith 
Solomon; and this one, written in a period of war, 
along the line of the army by one who knew nothing 
of tactics, strategy, or the science of war — and which 
has been revised and published in a time of profound 
peace by one wholly ignorant of the art of book- 
making, and who prefers no claim to literary attain- 
ment — may be regarded, somewhat, as an anomaly. 
The author wrote as he thought and felt under the 
surroundings and emergencies of the day (or rather 
of the night, as most of his letters were written while 
his mess-mates were sleeping beside him) ; he wrote 
because impelled to do so, to preserve and to main- 
tain untarnished and bright the domestic bond that 
had been the solace and joy of his life. Each letter 
has its individuality, the off-spring of the moment, but 
running through them all is a thread of unity — unity 
of feeling and of sentiment making them one. 

They were written without the remotest thought of 
publication, or even of preservation, and are now given 
to the public with, perhaps, as little expurgation as 
was ever applied to such a mass of manuscript. 

The epistolary form is not generally esteemed the best 
for the purpose of the author — that of furnishing some 
memoranda of the marchings, counter-marchings and 



vi PREFACE. 

conflicts in which his regiment participated during his 
period of service with it; but having once told his 
story in that form, he distrusted his ability to turn it 
into narrative, and at the same time preserve the air 
of verisimilitude which the epistolary form permits. 

While admitting the defects of his book, the author 
claims for it some merits: First, that of earnest, ardent, 
unwavering adherence, amid all its reverses and dis- 
asters, to the cause in which he had embarked; and 
second, that of absolute truthfulness in statement, so 
far as he was able to comprehend and know the truth. 

His early political affiliations and associations were 
with the party that acknowledged the sovereignty of 
the Nation, and on the outbreak of rebellion he felt 
irresistibly impelled to go where the logical teachings 
of his life pointed. 

The right of revolution is inherent, indefeasible, in- 
alienable, and can neither be granted, denied, nor lim- 
ited by legal or constitutional verbiage. It is an exercise 
of power, in the presence of which laws are silent. 
Had our Southern brethren boldly assumed the role of 
revolutionists they would have strengthened their cause 
and won in a higher degree than they did, the respect 
and admiration of the world. Their fight was a gallant 
and a bitter one; but, made on the assumption of legal 
and constitutional right, drawn from the charter estab- 
lishing the government, it was extreme folly, or fraud. 

B. F. S. 

Visalia, Kenton County, Ky., June 11, 1884. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 



Camp King, near Covington, Kentucky, 

Dec. 26, 1861. 

Dear Sister, — I feel it due to you to let you know my 
present whereabouts and future prospects. I take it as 
granted that you were apprised of my intention to enter the 
army if a surgeon's position were offered me. I am here 
with the 23d Regiment Kentucky Infantry in that charac- 
ter, tho' not as Senior Surgeon. I attended at Louisville 
on the 10th, for examination by the Army Medical Board 
as a candidate for the rank of surgeon; on which occasion 
the members of the Board voluntarily said to me that I 
ought not to accept any position less than that of Regi- 
mental Surgeon. I felt grateful for the compliment 
implied, but felt at the same time somewhat as Sancho 
Panza did when advised not to accept the governorship of 
the island of Barataria, "that such islands were not to be 
had every day for the asking." The second position had 
been offered me ; the first had not, in a regiment which 
I thought presented a reasonable prospect of filling up 
soon; and as my mind had long since reached the conclu- 
sion that the government had a just and an equitable right 
to demand the services of all its citizens, it was therefore 
no part of patriotism to haggle about the "order of going, 
but to go at once." 

My duties here are so entirely different from anything 
encountered in private practice that I find I have much to 



8 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

learn ; but will strive to master the situation, and thus merit 
the advanced position, whether I shall achieve it or not. 

I was mustered in on the 16th, and have been regularly 
in camp since the 20th, and have formed a mess with the 
Senior Surgeon, the Chaplain, and the Hospital Steward, 
and after six days' acquaintance with them I think there 
will be no more agreeable mess in the regiment. Dr. 
Strotthote is a German of fine education, a reputable phy- 
sician of Newport, and, I think, very much of a gentleman. 
The Rev. Mr. Black, of Newport also, is Chaplain. He is 
a member of the M. E, Church, and he appears to me to 
be a modest, sensible jgentleman. 

My absence from home is, of course, a source of grief to 
Lida and the children, and I have my regrets also, as no 
man on earth has had a quieter or more desirable home, 
or a better, more lovable wife and children than I have. 
But an all-absorbing, all-engrossing sense of duty, alike to 
country and family, impelled me to my present position. 

I trust mother has before this time reconciled herself to 
my action. The country must be defended, or we will soon 
be in the deplorable condition of Missouri, whose people I 
consider the most wretched of any at present in the United 
States. I know no reason why I should not be as subject 
to duty as any man, as I have had the protection of govern- 
ment all my life. I feel, too, that something is due to the 
memory of a father who in the war of 1812 shouldered his 
musket at the call of his country and on the plains of 
Canada aided in vindicating the rights of the nation. 

I see no present indications that the regiment will be 
moved forward. There are disagreements and heart-burn- 
ings among the official corps of the regiment, which I fear 
much will tend to impair the spirit and vigor of the troops. 
It was given out yesterday that we would be ordered to 
Somerset, Ky. , during next week, but I have just learned 
that the rumor is unfounded. If we should go to that 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. g 

point, we will pass through Lexington, and if so, I will 
make the effort to see you. 

Delia owes me a letter. She used to abuse me for neg- 
lecting her, but now, when she extracts a letter from me 
she lets it go unanswered. She must do better if she 
hopes to hear from me in the future. 

Much love to all, and kind wishes to enquiring friends. 
Yours truly, 

B. F. STEVENSON. 
Mrs. A. H. Keene, Georgetown, Ky. 



Ashland, Kentucky, Jan. 9, 1862. 
Col. D. W. Lindsey, Com. 22d Ky. Infty. 
Louisa, Kentucky, 
Sir, — Herewith I send a letter addressed t to me by 
R. Murray, Surgeon U. S. A., and Medical Director 
of the Department of the Ohio. 

From its phraseology I infer that my nomination, by 
Dr. Flint, as surgeon to the 22d Kentucky Infantry is 
subject to your approval. I shall await your orders at 
this point. 

I found in hospital here some seventy odd sick men, 
under charge of Dr. Jones, Contract Surgeon, who wished 
very much to be relieved, and I assumed control at once. 
I hope to hear from you soon. 
Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

B. F. STEVENSON. 



Medical Director's Office, 

Department of the Ohio, 

Louisville, Kentucky, Dec. 30, 1861. 

Sir, — Col. Lindsey has authorized Dr. Flint, of this 

city, to nominate a surgeon for his regiment. Dr. Flint 



io LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

has selected you. Please report to Col. Lindsey at once, 
at Ashland, near Greenup. Your services are needed im- 
mediately. You will at once make requisition on Assistant 
Surgeon J. P. Wright, of Cincinnati, Ohio, for a three 
months' supply of medical and hospital supplies. 
Take this letter to Col. Lindsey. 
Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

R. MURRAY, 
Surgeon U. S. A. Medical Director. 
To Dr. B. F. Stevenson, Burlington, Kentucky. 



Headquarters 22d Regiment, 

Kentucky Volunteer Infantry, 

Louisa, Kentucky, Jan. 12, 1862. 
Dr. B. F. Stevenson, . 

Ashland, Ky. 
Sir, — Your letter of the 9th inst, together with that of 
Surgeon R. Murray inclosed, reached me to-day. Your 
nomination as Surgeon to the 22d Regiment Kentucky 
Volunteer Infantry, by Dr. Flint, is cordially approved. 
You will remain in charge of the sick in hospital at Ash- 
land, Ky., subject to my orders. You will once each 
week send to these headquarters a report of your sick in 
hospital, and also of your convalescents. 
Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

D. W. LINDSEY, 
Col. Com'ding 22d Regt. Ky. Vol. Infty. 



Ashland, Kentucky, Jan. 9, 1862. 
Dear Wife, — I reached this point at nine last night, 
and found the 22d Kentucky Infantry Regiment had left 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. u 

here for Louisa, in Lawrence County, and rumor has it 
that it has gone on to Piketon, where Humphrey Marshall 
is reported to be. My orders from headquarters were to 
report at this place. I am therefore bound to remain until 
ordered forward by Col. Lindsey, to whom I have re- 
ported. 

I found here some seventy sick men; measles, bron- 
chitis, pneumonia, and typhoid fever prevailing. The 
cases are generally mild in type, and will most of them, I 
think, soon be convalescent. The condition of filth and 
dirt in which soldiers everywhere wallow is sickening to 
the heart. 

I would infinitely prefer to be along the line of active 
operations, and would greatly like to pass through the 
mountain region of Kentucky. 

Yours truly, 



Ashland, Kentucky, Jan. 13, 1862. 

Dear Daughter, — I wrote a short note to your mother 
the day after my arrival here, and I now send you a few 
lines. I have been here just long enough to find this the 
budding of a beautiful little city. It is located at an eligi- 
ble point for commercial purposes, with a number of iron 
furnaces some ten miles back of it, and connected with 
the town by a railroad; and the county I find very much 
superior to my former opinions of it. 

Col. Lindsey is now at Prestonsburg, one hundred miles 
up the Big Sandy River, with most of the regiment. This 
point is the chief hospital depot for the sick of the regi- 
ment, and I found on my arrival some seventy sick men 
in hospital in all the stages from extreme illness to conva- 
lescence, the chief complaints being measles and typhoid 
fever, with the bronchial complications usually attending 



12 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

the former disease. There has been one death since I 
assumed charge, and there will soon be at least one more. 
We are all sheltered in brick buildings equal to the best in 
Burlington. 

In all my life I have not witnessed such a sight as was 
presented to me on the night of my arrival. Ten, twelve 
and fifteen men were crowded into small ill-ventilated 
rooms, with nothing under them but a single blanket to 
each, and straw that the sick and nurses had been treading 
over for a week. Each room was heated with a large 
stove, and in all I found the temperature above a hundred 
degrees Fahrenheit. How much longer they could have 
gone on that way without a fearful degree of mortality I 
can't say, but with my strong powers of endurance, I 
could not breathe the fetid atmosphere without a feeling of 
disgust and nausea. I scattered the men round town in 
vacant houses, which abound here at present, and I hope 
now the mortality will not be greater than the numbers 
mentioned. 

Your Uncle Thomas met me on the boat at Maysville, 
where it stopped only long enough to put off a few pas- 
sengers. His family were all well. At Greenup I met 
two of the granddaughters of Richard Stevenson, who was 
brother to my grandfather. I was kindly received, and 
they urged my stay with them as long as I remained in 
town, which was only a few hours. 

The Rev. Mr. Bayless, of the Presbyterian Church, is 
here in charge as minister. He called on me on Saturday, 
and on Sunday I attended service at his church. He made 
kindly enquiries for your grandfather's and the Coleman 
families. He stands well with his church and in the com- 
munity. 

I galloped to Catlettsburg, five miles above, at the 
mouth of the Big Sandy River, after dinner to-day, and 
got my first glimpse of the " sacred soil" of Virginia, and 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 13 

found it did not look a bit more inviting than my native 
State. 

It may seem strange to you, but all our news from the 
regiment reaches us by way of Cincinnati ; and so you will 
know what is doing at headquarters before I do. I find the 
entire community here quiet ; to me it seems apathetic. If 
there be a dis-union element here I have not discovered it. 
Those with whom I talk say there has been since the 
August election a radical change in public sentiment in 
favor of preserving the national integrity. Before that 
time the dis-unionists numbered about one-third of the 
community, but all concur in saying a great change has 
been wrought. 

I am anxiously expecting letters from home. I am com- 
fortably housed, take my meals at a hotel, and room with 
the Major of the regiment, who was left in command of the 
post here. 

Much love and many kisses to all. 

Yours truly, 



Ashland, Kentucky, Jan. 19, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — I am still without a word from home since 
leaving Cincinnati. I hope, don't doubt, that both you 
and Kate have written since receiving my letters. 

I mentioned in my last Mr. Bayless and his courtesy in 
calling on me. Since then he invited me to his house, to 
meet a few of the leading gentlemen of the town, bankers 
and proprietors of the place. I felt myself just as much a 
man as the best of them. 

"The rank is but the guinea-stamp; 
The man's the gowd for a' that." 

My sick are improving, though another one has died 
since I wrote to you. I hope now there will be no more 



14 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

deaths from the number here. The gloomy, rainy weather 
is having a depressing effect on the feelings of almost 
everybody. It has rained every day but one since I 
reached the town. 

I have had the hospital pretty thoroughly cleaned out 
from top to bottom. Ladies would think the houses offen- 
sive still, but I assure you they are in a hundred fold better 
condition than I found them on my arrival; and now I 
would not be much ashamed to make an exhibit to medi- 
cal gentlemen from abroad. When I was examined at 
Louisville, Dr. Hewette said to me that I would find sick 
soldiers the most helpless beings on earth. The observa- 
tion was true. Just as soon as they are unable to do daily 
duty they appear to give up all hope, and expect to be 
waited on in the most trivial affairs. 

When in Cincinnati, I arranged with the proprietors of 
the Gazette to send them a letter occasionally in payment 
for their paper. I will forward to-morrow one signed 
"Medico," over which nomme de plume you will in the 
future see what I may have to say to the public. 

I would be glad to learn the present whereabouts of Col. 
Monday's regiment (23d Kentucky), as I promised Dr. 
Strotthote to write to him. 

* * * Love to all, with many kisses. 
Yours truly, 



Ashland, Kentucky, Jan. 27, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — Yours of the 14, reached me yesterday. I 
did not, as you say, forget your father when in Cincinnati, 
but tore a leaf from my memorandum book and made out 

a prescription which W promised to procure and 

deliver. 

The defeat of Humphrey Marshall, unlike that of Wil- 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 15 

liams, was a much more important affair than the papers 
represent it to have been. He was shamefully driven from 
a very strong position by five hundred and twenty Union 
troops, all told, actually engaged. He burned a large 
amount of army supplies together with the house of a cit- 
izen in which he had stored them against the owner's will. 
These facts I give on the authority of the Quartermaster 
and a Captain of the regiment, both of whom accompanied 
the expedition. Among the spoils of victory were ten 
wagons, with their mules and horses, and near a thousand 
pairs of shoes. But little has been written and published 
of this affair, because, as I think, of all the bosh and fuss 
over Nelson's raid through the same region. 

It is the opinion here that Marshall's troops are thor- 
oughly demoralized and cannot make battle again this 
winter. Laban Moore, who commanded one of the regi- 
ments up Sandy, roomed with me last night; he is well 
known throughout this section, and knows everybody, 
having represented this district in Congress, and his opinion 
is that there will be but little trouble here, and that of a 
purely local character. 

I understand Col. Lindsey's regiment will be sta- 
tioned at Louisa, in Lawrence county, during this winter, 
and according to verbal information I will be ordered 
there soon. The town is on Big Sandy, twenty-four miles 
above the mouth. 

Letters you will still direct to this place, as arrangements 
have been made to forward the mails to the different 
regiments up the river. I will keep you advised of our 
movements. Let me hear regularly from your father. 
Love to all, with kisses to the children. 

Yours truly, 



16 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Louisa, Kentucky, Jan. 29, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — Look to your map, and you will see where 
I am at present. On Monday evening I received orders 
to be in readiness to move on Tuesday morning's boat. At 
ten Tuesday morning all my sick but three, or rather, all 
my convalescent, together with eighty-nine men fit for 
duty, took boat for the mouth of Big Sandy, and at that 
point we changed boats. The class of steamboats navi- 
gating the Sandy are smaller than any steamboats you 
have ever seen, and it was our luck to take passage on the 
very worst of the class; a boat that with much difficulty 
made two miles per hour against the current, which is just 
now pretty strong. In consequence of the numerous rafts, 
and of much drift in the river, we tied up at dark, and so 
remained during the night. 

Two miles below this point the boat broke a shaft, and 
the men footed it up; Captain Worthington and myself 
riding, and for the first time in my life I profaned* the 
li sacred soil" of Virginia with my " hireling feet." The 
boat was much crowded and I slept on the deck, which I 
found preferable to an atmosphere reeking with the fumes 
of tobacco and whiskey, and aggravated with the heat of a 
great stove. 

The river scenery is more imposing than I had expected 
to find it. The town is situated on a high plain fifty feet 
above the greatest floods, and just at the junction of the 
two main tributaries of the stream. I suppose it has a 
population of five to six hundred, and in summer with its 
circle of towering hills it must be a beautiful place, but just 
now everything is marred with the oceans of mud which 
surrounds one on all sides and literally flows through its 
streets; even the sidewalks are unpaved 

The general impression among officers is that we will be 
ordered still further up the river, and Paintsville, in John- 
son county, is named as the point. It is not believed here 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. . 17 

that there will be any more fighting in this section during 
the winter, unless it be with a band of marauding cut- 
throats who infest the mountain spurs, from whence they 
creep into the settlements at night to rob, devastate, and 
murder sleeping citizens. We have news to-day of just 
such an occurrence in Carter county, where a citizen was 
killed whilst defending his property from pillage. This 
band of out-laws numbers* some two hundred men, and 
there are now out on their trail five or six hundred soldiers, 
who I hope will give a good account of them when they 
return. 

I did not lose my third man at Ashland, as I feared, but 
left him improving finely, and with every prospect of 
recovery. He was furloughed home and will not be able 
to do duty this winter. 

Do all in your power to stimulate Kate to be attentive 
to the children ; it will benefit her as much as them. I 
hope on my return to find great improvement with all. I 
expected a letter from her before I left Ashland, but was 
disappointed. I suppose she wrote long since, but the 
floods and the disturbed condition of the country have 
interfered with the regular delivery of the mails. 

Remember me kindly to enquiring friends, kiss the 
children for me and be assured of much love from 

Yours truly, 



Louisa, Kentucky, Feb. 1, 1862. 
Dear Wife, — I wrote to you on the evening of my 
arrival at this point, and have nothing new of importance 
to communicate since then. I found here quite a number 
of sick in hospital under charge of the Assistant Surgeon of 
the Forty-Second Ohio Infantry. He appears to relish the 



18 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

position and I am entirely satisfied to have him retain it, 
though my inferior in rank. 

I am still without news from home except your letter of 
the 14, which was acknowledged in a previous one of mine. 
I hope when it rains it will pour, but I have been hoping so 
long that "hope deferred maketh sick the heart." Letters 
addressed to Ashland to any member of the brigade, will 
be forwarded to this place, and will probably come to hand 
sooner than if addressed direct. 

I can't devote another moment to you as the mail man 
is now ready to be off. Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



Louisa, Kentucky, Feb. 2, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — I wrote you last night a short note, but 
failed to say all I had intended, for lack of time. I pre- 
sumed then our regiment would remain at this point some 
time, as we have quite a number of men on " sick list." 

Col. Garfield reached here at nine last night from above, 
and was in conference with Col. Lindsey, whilst I was 
writing my note, and just after breakfast this morning I 
received orders to be in readiness for an up the river trip 
to-morrow morning. Our point of destination is believed 
to be Paintsville, thirty miles above this place. I know 
but little of the strategic points, but presume Prestonsburg 
will be our ultimate destination. 

In the present condition of the roads, we will never be 
able to leave the line of the river ; nor can an army be 
subsisted in this region away from the facilities for trans- 
portation afforded by the river. The contending hosts 
have wantonly destroyed what they could not legitimately 
consume of the substance of the people, and now gaunt 
famine is staring the families that remain, in their faces. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 19 

Here in a town of five hundred inhabitants, a pound of 
tea or coffee cannot be purchased except at the Sutler's or 
Quartermaster's tent. 

I have been kept pretty busy during the day, but as yet 
have had the nights undisturbed ; indeed, regulations do not 
permit night-calls, save in cases of wounds, but I am at 
liberty to visit my sick at my pleasure. 

I have my own fun over some of the incidents of the 
day, and as a specimen of the things amusing to me take 
the following : A Lieutenant in one of our companies 
approached me yesterday and examined the cord on my 
pantaloons, rubbed his hand down my leg and said, " Sur- 
geon, what did your breeches cost ? " Every thing I have 
or wear, is subjected to the most critical examination, and an 
equally critical enquiry as to the cost. I used to think 
English writers were drawing a "long bow" when detail- 
ing just such stories of us as a people, but now I must 
concede it all to be true. 

* * * I don't know when I may hear from you as 
there is no regular mail above Paintsville, but I will continue 
to write to you every week, and I wish you to do the same to 
me, in the hope that your letters will come to hand some 
time in the future. Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



Steamboat Piketon, Big Sandy River, *) 
Feb. 3rd, 1862. j 

Dear Daughter, — I received this morning yours of the 
20th January, and was much gratified to learn that all were 
well. I wrote to your mother last night, informing her of 
our orders up the river. I then thought we would 
stop at Paintsville, but after getting aboard the boat I 



20 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

learned that our destination is Piketon, the extreme limit 
of steamboat navigation. Government availing itself of 
the high waters, is forwarding large amounts of army sup- 
plies to the head of navigation. Col. Lindsey's regi- 
ment will have the post of honor ; the advanced position. 
The other regiments will follow us on the return of the 
other boats to Paintsville. We are now coaling twenty 
miles above Louisa, where we will probably remain until 
day-light (it is now eleven P. M.) as the coal has to be 
mined, and transported two hundred yards to the boat in 
hand baskets. 

Big Sandy does not look much larger than Gunpowder 
Creek when it is in full tide. It is very sinuous, and its 
navigation difficult. The adjacent country is a much more 
important agricultural region than I had expected to find. 
The bottoms are broad and fertile, and the hills supply 
immense quantities of lumber, which is rafted to the towns 
on the Ohio river. 

Cols. Garfield and Lindsey are on board. The former 
is the ranking officer, and commander of all the forces in 
this region. He is a plain, unpretending looking man but 
I take it a very determined one. He is young for his 
responsible position, being only thirty-two years old. I 
received to-day the Cincinnati Gazette of the 30th inst, 
containing a silly article on Garfield ; I read it to those 
around me, and one of the number, a member of his regi- 
ment, told him of it, when he called on me and asked to 
see the paper. He took it quietly, but I thought him 
somewhat annoyed. I was glad of the opportunity to 
make his acquaintance. A little incident that occurred at 
Catlettsburg during the recent rise of the Ohio river is 
characteristic of the man. He reached the town just 
as the wharf was being submerged, and was met by the 
clerk of the brigade commissary, with the information that 
a large amount of government stores was in danger of being 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 21 

swept off by the flood. Without sending others he led the 
way, and toiled until midnight, knee-deep in mud and 
water, to save them ; and he did save them. The clerk, a 
nice dapper young man, son of the commissary who was 
responsible for the stores, stepped round in his father's office 
in embroidered slippers and neglected everything. 

I am writing in a close cabin, amid the noise and con- 
fusion of hundreds of boisterous and profane soldiers; so 
you must take my letter for just what it is worth, and no 
more. 

The scenery of the river as we ascend it, assumes more 
and more imposing features, and I doubt not its beauty in 
summer, when the hills are clad in verdure ; now, however, 
the prospect is bleak, but grand. 

I was much pleased to learn that you are engaged in 
teaching the children. I hope on my return to find them 
much improved, and I feel certain the effort will benefit 
you even more than it will them, as nothing so impresses 
anything on the mind as the attempt to teach it to others. 

I must not close without saying a word for Col. Lindsey. 
He is quite young, I think not over twenty-five years old. 
He is a graduate of the Kentucky Military School, a good 
tactician, and certainly the most modest and unassuming 
man of his age that I have known. 

In the future you will probably not hear from me as often 
as heretofore. Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



The report of the Adjutant General of Kentucky says 
of the 22d Infantry — page 128 : 

" A detachment of the 22d and of the 14th Kentucky 
Infantry under command of Lieutenant Colonel Monroe, 
during battle at Middle Creek charged and dislodged from a 
strong position, the command of General Williams, C. S. A., 



22 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

which movement, as the commanding officer, General 
Garfield reports, was determinate of. the day." — 



GENERAL BUELL'S ORDER. 

Headquarters Department of Ohio, | 

Louisville, Kentucky, Jan. 20, 1862. j 
General Orders No. 40. 

' ' The General commanding takes occasion to thank 
General Garfield and his troops for their successful cam- 
paign against the rebel force under General Marshall on 
the Big Sandy, and their gallant conduct in battle. 

They have overcome formidable difficulties in the charac- 
ter of the country, the condition of the roads, and the 
inclemency of the season; and without artillery have in 
several engagements terminating in the battle on Middle 
Creek on the 10 inst. driven the enemy from his entrenched 
position, and forced him back into the mountains with the 
loss of a large amount of baggage and stores, and many 
of his men killed and captured. v 

These services have called into action the highest qual- 
ities of a soldier — fortitude, perseverance, courage." 



Headquarters Kentucky Volunteers A. G. O. | 
Frankfort, Jan. 30, 1862. j 
Col. D. W. Lindsey, 22d Ky. Vol., 
Paintsville. 

Colonel : All accounts concur in giving honor 

and praise to your men engaged in Middle Creek fight. 

The reported gallantry of your men has given infinite 
satisfaction to their friends here. 

Very truly yours, 

JOHN W. FINNELL, 
Adjutant General Kentucky Volunteers. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 23 

Piketon, Kentucky, Feb, 5, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — I wrote to Kate day before yesterday, say- 
ing that our destination w.as Piketon, instead of Paintsville. 
We are all here, and to-morrow I will be under canvass, the 
first time for me since I left Camp King. This place is, by 
the river, one hundred and twelve miles above its mouth. 
The upper portion of the river is beautiful, and the naviga- 
tion much better than that lower down. The hills loom 
up almost to the proportion of mountains, and look grand, 
but bleak and sterile. It would be a pleasure to me to pass 
through this region in summer, and under other circum- 
stances than exist at present. 

You will probably see in the papers an account of the 
killing of Judge Cecil of this county. An attempt will be 
made to have it appear as a great outrage perpetrated by 
union troops. The deed was done by a man who is not a 
soldier, and was prompted by private malignity. The 
Judge was not entirely free from blame. A disturbance, 
ending in a personal rencontre, occurred in the court-house 
yard some two months since, during the session of the 
court. It resulted from the political excitement of the day, 
and should have been treated very tenderly, and with the 
utmost impartiality. The parties were arrested and taken 
before the Judge, and he, after a brief examination, ordered 
the union man to jail and discharged the other party with 
whom he agreed in political sentiment. Men here who 
sympathize with rebellion have said to me that the man 
discharged was as guilty as the one committed to prison. 
If both parties had been punished, or both discharged, I 
think that would have been the last of it. The man who 
was imprisoned swore vengeance against the Judge and 
killed him on sight, whilst he was nominally a prisoner, 
and in the hands of the military authorities, but at the same 
time attempting to escape. The killing was a cowardly 
affair, as the Judge was unarmed. 



24 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Before we left Paintsville, our horses, twenty-five in num- 
ber, were started for this point over land, and through an 
infected district. We expected to find them here on our 
arrival, but they have not yet reached us (five hours after 
our arrival), nor have we heard from them, and we fear they 
have been captured. 

Col. Garfield with the other regiments of his command 
will be up just as soon as the boats can make the trip down 
and back again. I can't state any probable time when I 
may be able to see you, as we may any day be ordered to 
Virginia or Tennessee. 

May God preserve you in the hollow of his hand. Love 
to all. 

Yours truly, 



Piketon, Kentucky, Feb. 7, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — Yours of 22 January reached me a few 
minutes since and I hasten to answer, but my answer must 
be brief, as our Chaplain, who goes to Cincinnati and will 
take this, is just ready to start. I have written home twice 
during the week, both of which letters, I suppose, will have 
reached you before this is received. I mentioned in my 
last my fears that our horses had been captured, but they 
came in to-day ; having been detained by high waters and 
bad roads. 

This town is a miserable abortion of a place, and has 
heretofore been the hot-bed of the dis-union element in the 
county. A reign of terror has existed here for months, 
such as the citizens of Boone know nothing of. Two men 
accompanied our regiment who have not seen their families 
for four months; good citizens, who have not taken arms 
on either side; their only offense being love of the govern- 
ment, and the possession of some wealth which they would 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 25 

not consent to see used in aid of rebellion. A permanent 
force has not been sent here a day too soon. Here it is 
thought that Marshall is out of the state, and that there is 
little probability of his return during the winter. 

Measles had its day in the regiment, but it has disap- 
peared, and now mumps is the prevalent form of com- 
plaint; we having at least fifty men confined in hospital 
and quarters with it. I have been as much surprised to 
find the large numbers of adults attacked with the latter 
disease as with the former. 

Remember me kindly to enquiring friends ; give my love 
to all I hold dear, and accept a full share for yourself. 

Yours truly, 



Piketon, Kentucky, Feb. 12, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — I wrote to you last week by Chaplain 
Sumner, and I write now in the expectation that our com- 
munications with the outside world will for some time to 
come be cut off. 

Big Sandy has now got to be very little, and very sandy 
at that. I suppose our last boat for the season will go 
down to-morrow, not to return until a rise. There are no 
mail facilities, except by the river, as the carriers were 
shot at and the mail-bags captured and rifled months since, 
which led to the withdrawal of mail deliveries all through 
the mountain regions. 

I had a grand treat to-day. It was my first sight of a 
familiar object since I left home. It was neither more nor 
less than a huge dish of mush and milk. I enjoyed it so 
heartily, and ate of it to such repletion, that my stomach 
ached before I let go of it, and that I call relishing an old 
acquaintance with a witness. It was the first milk sipped 
by me since leaving home, so I ought to be pardoned for a 
little over-indulgence. 



26 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

For two days I have been kept very busy, as, in the 
absence of the surgeons of the 42d Ohio, I have had 
charge of two regiments, with from sixty to seventy sick 
in each. Most of the cases are mild in type, but a few in 
each regiment are grave and serious. It seems strange to 
most persons at home that there should be so much sick- 
ness in the army, but if they could but see the exposures 
to which soldiers are inevitably subjected, the only wonder 
would be that more were not sick. I have now under 
charge men who were engaged with Garfield in his expedi- 
tion against Marshall, who marched almost constantly for 
forty hours, with no rations but army bread and coffee, and 
who slept, when at last they were permitted to sleep, on 
the bare earth, without tents, waking out of sleep with 
clothes frozen to the ground. I think I can safely say that 
half the men here are just now unfit for duty. * * * 

In a letter to the Gazette last week I said of the country 
all I had to say, which I suppose you saw. Since I left 
home I have received two letters from you and one from 
Kate. I hope you have written oftener, and that in the 
good time coming they will all reach me. 

Dr. Harmon, Assistant Surgeon of the 42d Ohio, has 
just reported, and thus I am relieved from more than half 
of myjabors. 

Give my love with many kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



Piketon, Kentucky, Feb. 14, 1862. 
Dear Daughter, — I wrote to your mother two days since, 
and now I devote the hour to you. Since my last I have 
been actively engaged attending the sick. The sick of the 
42nd Ohio were for two days on my hands, but now, hav- 
ing been relieved of that regiment, I have the 40th Ohio 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 27 

instead. Why both regiments came in advance of their 
surgeons I don't know. There is a much greater amount 
of sickness in camp than the world is aware of. During 
the last four days quite a number of cases of pneumonia 
have presented, and they require close watching with the 
kind of nurses we have. 

It snowed last night, and the hills this morning presented 
a grand and imposing appearance. One of them especially, 
immediately in front of my window, lifts its conical peak 
high above its fellows, and like Saul among his brothers, it 
stands a head and shoulders above them all. Its sides are 
clad with evergreen, pine, cedar and holly, and its crown 
is covered with grand old oaks of a thousand years' growth 
and duration, and all these powdered with snow, present 
a winter landscape, sufficient to awaken a love of the pict- 
uresque and beautiful in the breast of the most dull and 
apathetic. To me it is a fitting emblem of human life, but 
life in repose. The green of youth and hope and buoy- 
ancy; the grave and sombre tints of middle life are shown 
by the out-cropping masses of bleak and sterile stone, 
which give the shadows to the picture ; and over all, and 
crowning all, high up in the air, the white plume is but the 
fitting representation of an old age of dignity and honor. 
May you, my daughter, reach all the dignity and honor of 
age, without an undue share of the trials and crosses 
incidental to the battle of life, and preserve your faculties, 
affections and sentiments pure and uncontaminated by the 
storms of an unfeeling and sordid world. 

I hope you will strive to be very attentive and obedient 
to your mother, and thus in some degree render her situa- 
tion less irksome than it otherwise would be. Your attempt 
to review your French I heartily approve. You may think 
now it is of little value, but by and by you will find it 
otherwise. I never pass a day without regretting wasted 
opportunities. In my intercourse with my professional 



28 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

brethren, I always feel the want of the Latin ; not that I 
think myself inferior in intellect or information, but from 
the mere fact that the technical language of the profession 
is drawn from that source. 

If you can venture to commence with Willie in the Latin 
grammar, you can do nothing to please me so much, and 
if it would facilitate your studies to have Julia in the class, 
the pleasure will be just so much the greater. 

Your mother asked the names of the field and staff offi- 
cers of the regiment. I give them: Colonel, Daniel W. 
Lindsey ; Lieutenant-Colonel, George W. Monroe ; Major, 
J, Wesley Cook; Adjutant, Orlando Brown, Jr.; Surgeon 
I need not name, you know something of him personally; 
Assistant Surgeon, Henry Manfred. I have seen him but 
once; he appeared to me a kind, courteous gentleman, 
and I have heard his medical abilities well spoken of; 
Quartermaster, J. Paul Jones. 

Yesterday some fifty to sixty citizens from the other side 
of the river came into camp, asking protection from a band 
of thieves and outlaws, who are driving off their stock, 
destroying their grain, and treating with indignity and out- 
rage all the families who profess any loyalty to the govern- 
ment. 

Love to all, with many kisses to the young ones. 

Yours truly, 



Piketon, Kentucky, Feb. 17, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — I wrote last week to both you and Kate, 
but neither of the letters will go out until to-morrow morn- 
ing, and I have concluded to post you to date. 

Nothing of interest in the military line is occurring here, 
and I have only the daily routine of attendance on my sick. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 29 

I have in hospital thirty-eight men, some of them quite ill, 
and I have twenty men in quarters to visit daily. 

I should have said before this, that I have not gone into 
tent. It set in to rain, and then to snow, about the time I 
had appointed to have my tent erected, and my sick accu- 
mulated so rapidly that I had time for nothing else. The 
court house I took for my hospital on our arrival, and 
having my office in one of the rooms, I concluded to spread 
my blankets on the soft side of a couple of benches I found 
conveniently arranged in the room, and so take up both 
bed and board in the court house. You may rest easy. 
I am comfortably housed, fed and slept, here. 

I would be glad to know what kind of weather you have 
had in Burlington. Here every day for the last week has been 
a counterpart of Charles Lamb's humorous description of 
a December day in London, " First it blew, then it snew, 
then it thew, then it rin and then it friz." From the mouth 
of Sandy to this place the mud in all the towns is deep be- 
yond your powers of conception. 

I send for Kate's especial admiration a letter from a lassie 
in Frankfort to a laddie in camp. It is a fine specimen of 
the diplomacy of the sex when endeavoring to accomplish 
a purpose. I hope she will use it with discretion and learn 
wisdom from its policy. The laddie is a nurse in the hos- 
pital and was handing it round for the admiration of the 
boys, and so I felt no compunction in asking for it to send 
to you. 

We are here at the head of navigation of the Sandy, 
and we can go no further without heavy wagon trains to 
transport subsistence. Nothing, literally nothing, for man 
or beast, can be procured beyond this point, on the way 
to Virginia, and the attempt to wagon supplies seems to me 
utterly preposterous. 

We have rumors of union victories elsewhere, but the 
papers do not come to confirm them. I hope when they 



3 o LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

do come they may bring a flood of favorable news as wide- 
spread and all embracing as the recent flood of the waters. 
Love to all, with many kisses to the children, and kind 
regards to enquiring friends. 

Yours truly, 



Piketon, Kentucky, Feb. 21, 1862. 

Dear Wife^ — I received to-day Kate's letter of the 8, 
and yours of the 9, and with them a confirmation of the 
rumors of glorious union victories everywhere. Our camps 
have been jubilant, almost delirious, with excitement. 
You can scarcely realize the anxiety felt here, as we have 
been two weeks without an arrival from below. 

I wish to treat all mankind justly and courteously, but 
it does afford me great pleasure to exult over the enemies 
of the nation in this the day of their tribulation; and the 
number of them in Boone is legion, but the day is coming 
when they will sit in sack-cloth and ashes for their shame- 
less aid and comfort to a wanton and cruel rebellion. 

Let a few more disasters befall the cause and rebellion 
will be overthrown on its own soil by its own off-spring. 
This has been my constant prediction and belief, and this 
opinion is sustained by the papers of the day recording the 
joy of the citizens of North Alabama on the arrival of the 
gunboats. 

Just as soon as I am convinced that the government has its 
heel on the neck of the rebellion, that minute will I tender 
a resignation, and return home, as that is of all places the 
one most congenial to me. 

Some fifteen union men of this county brought in yester- 
day three prisoners, captured by them on Sunday last, after 
a skirmish in which three men were killed. They are from 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 31 

Virginia and now seem very penitent, and say they were 
driven to marauding by threats of being denounced as 
unionists. I state only what themselves have said to me. 
I have two of them wounded under my care.* 
Love to all, with kisses to the young ones. 

Yours truly, 



Piketon, Kentucky, Feb. 23, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — I take the opportunity of the return of Lieut. 
Sneed of our regiment to Frankfort to send you a barrel 
of dried peaches. I bought them here at one dollar and 
fifty cents a bushel, cheaper I think than with you. You 
will find them of good quality, and I hope you will not fail 
to share them with friends. 

The most extraordinary rise of Big Sandy that has occur- 
red since 1826, came on Saturday evening and night. For 
two weeks we had daily, and I may say nightly, showers, 
and Friday night a constant rain set in and continued 
throughout all of Saturday. In that time the river rose 
fifty-five feet, plumb water. 

*These same wounded prisoners, now convalescent, were still in 
hospital when we were ordered from Piketon. I reported them 
verbally to Col. Lindsey, who referred me to General Garfield, and 
he conferred on me judicial functions and directed me to adminis- 
ter the oath of allegiance to the government, make a minute of it, 
have them sign it, and then file the document with his assistant Ad- 
jutant-General for preservation, and then dismiss them to their 

homes. 

" The Devil was sick, the Devil a monk would be. 
The Devil was well, the Devil a monk was he," 

That document if now in the records of the War Office should 
be turned over to the Professors at West Point, as a new elemental 
principle in the art of war to be taught to their belligerent brats. 



32 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

The entire town plateau was submerged and large quanti- 
ties of government stores, consisting of flour, pork, grain, 
hay, and indeed everything going to make up the subsistence 
of an army, was swept off and lost. Unless the river contin- 
ues up for some time to come, the disaster will paralyse this 
branch of the army. You will find in the Gazette a short 
account of the flood. I was up all of Saturday night, and 
having nothing further of interest to say, I propose now to 
retire, not, however, forgetting to send my love to all. Good 
night. 

Monday Morning. 

After lying down last night, and thinking over what I 
might spare from my outfit, I concluded to send home two 
white blankets which I purchased in Cincinnati. They are 
unsuitable for camp life, and I have not used them since 
leaving Camp King. 

I fancy you would take to me if you could only see my 
face. It has been unrazored and unscissored since I left 
home, and my moustache is becoming imperial in magnitude. 

My health is all I could ask it to be, which I attribute 
in a good degree, to my Hussar boots, which are thor- 
oughly water-proof, large and loose, giving ample play to 
my feet, and thus add very much to my naturally graceful 
movements. 

Yours truly, 



Piketon, Kentucky, Feb. 26, 1862. 

Dear Daughter, — I sent a letter to your mother yester- 
day, and I feel that you are entitled to this, though I have 
but little that is new to say. 

Yesterday and to-day have been most lovely winter 
days; there was just frost enough to crust over the soft 
mud in the mornings, but during the days the sun was out 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 33 

with a warmth and brilliancy almost equal to summer. 
You can't have the faintest idea of the depth of the mud 
following the flood, but there is this to say : there is much 
sand in the soil, and the water soon dries out. 

The loss of property, and the distress occasioned by the 
high waters is very great. A number of houses passed 
here, and one is reported to have had a woman and two 
children in it. Much hay, corn and fodder, and fencing 
was swept off. How families are to live along the line of 
the river, is more than I can say, as Providence takes what 
the rage of man spares. 

During the last month my weight has increased just one 
pound and six ounces; the ounces I attribute to beard. 
Don't you think me in a hopeful way? I want and will 
have the "diary," and won't write you another letter until 
I get it. Let me hear regularly and particularly from your 
grandfather. Love to all : Good night. 

Wednesday Morning. 
You may think the drawing on the other side of my 
sheet very rude, as it is, but I can do no better. It will, 
however, give you some idea of our position here. If the 
rebels could only get to the top of any of the hills around 
us they could shell us out in an hour ; but they can't get 
there. I suppose we have not an organized foe in fifty 
miles of us, and all the good we do here is to protect the 
people against marauding bands of cut-throats, who are a 
terror in this region ; but even this we cannot do effectually. 
A few mornings since, word came to Col. Garfield that the 
house of a citizen four miles from town, on the other side 
of the river had been attacked the night before, and a man 
killed. One company of the 42d Ohio was sent out to as- 
certain the condition of affairs; they found the man had 
been called from his bed during the night, and when he 
opened the door, was fired on and instantly killed. The 



34 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

rest of the family escaped by the rear of the house, except 
a boy of thirteen, and he was found hanging to the limb 
of a tree in the yard. All these facts I have from Dr. J. 
W. Harmon, assistant surgeon of the 42d Ohio, who was 
detailed to accompany the troops out. The feeling that 
the men captured a few days previous may have been 
members of this band of outlaws excites much indignation 
against them, but I hope nothing rash will be attempted in 
regard to them. 

A company of us have arranged to go to the top of 
" Duty's Knob" the first fine day. It is reported to be the 
highest peak in Eastern Kentucky. There is a bit of 
romance connected with the name. Thirty years since, 
Duty killed a man here, I believe in the town ; after arrest 
he escaped, and lay concealed on the mountain top, over- 
looking the town, and observing all that passed below, 
until the opportunity presented for him to leave the state ; 
since which time the knob has borne his name. 

This morning the entire surface of the country is covered 
with snow three or four inches deep, but with the soft 
surface underneath it will be as evanescent as the flower 
that blooms at dawn to wither under the noontide blaze ; 
but it will leave its memory behind in the deepened mud 
of the streets and roads. 

My men are coming in for morning examination and I 
close. Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



Piketon, Kentucky, March 3, 1862. 
Dear Wife, — Yours of the 15 th February reached me 
yesterday, and I am gratified to learn the continued good 
health of the family, and more than gratified to know that 
your father is still able to drive to the city and back the 
same day. 






LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 35 

The news of the fall of Fort Donelson reached us also 
yesterday, in advance of the boats, as they laid up four 
miles below town in consequence of low water. One uni- 
versal burst of joy went up from all loyal hearts here. 
"The horse and his rider are overthrown." "Sing ye, 
sing ye to the Lord." Every fibre of my being tingles 
with joy and gratulation. But now comes one of the most 
difficult phases of the great rebellion to manage ; to remem- 
ber moderation after victory. I hope ere long we will be 
a harmonious and united people, but none the less harmo- 
nious in demanding that stern, signal and inexorable justice 
shall be enforced against the leaders of the rebellion. A 
half dozen, or perhaps a dozen of them, as a boon to 
humanity, ought to be executed ; the rest may safely, very 
safely be consigned to the undying scorn and hatred of an 
insulted and outraged people. "Prone on the earth shall 
they crawl, and dust shall they eat all the days of their 
lives." But I have said enough on political topics. 

I sent to the Ashland Bank this morning one hundred 
and sixty dollars, with instructions to forward to the Cov- 
ington branch of the Northern Bank of Kentucky, and 
deposit to your credit. I suppose the funds will be in bank 
before this reaches you. 

If Kate can meet with proper company, I will be pleased 
to have her visit her uncle's family at Maysville ; yet it 
would be to me a cause of regret to have her do so, and 
return home with any sympathy with rebellion, of which 
she would hear much in praise. In 1856 her uncle 
stumped this district in favor of "Buck and Breck," and 
made a speech in the room where I now write ; and I fre- 
quently hear him named by citizens here. 

It is still a matter of doubt whether we will be ordered 
further south from this place. The only feasible roads of 
the country run along the margins of the streams, and the 
recent floods have utterly ruined them. Unless they are 



36 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

reconstructed and piked at that, an army wagon train could 
not make three miles a day on them. 

Don't you be uneasy about my tramping round in the 
mud ; my boots are thoroughly waterproof, and I have not 
for years passed a winter so free from cough. The only 
trouble I have had that way I contracted at Camp King. 

The papers tell me of the destination of the 23d regi- 
ment. I am sorry not to be with them, as we will be kept 
inactive here, and soldiers prefer anything to lying in 
muddy camps with only picket duty to do. 

Love to all, with kissses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



Piketon, Kentucky, March 6, 1862. 

Dear Daughter, — I said to you in my last, that I would 
not write to you again until I had received the "diary," 
but my promises, like pie crust, are made to be broken. 
Your mother had the last, but remember, I will expect the 
daily record of events at home sent to me at least once a 
week. The most trivial affairs connected with the family 
will be of interest to me. 

In the absence of any stirring events here, I have con- 
cluded to give you a detail of my daily life, and one day is 
the reflex of all. My first duty of the day is to attend 
what in military parlance is known as "surgeon's call. " 
This is generally gone through with before seven o'clock, 
and a report of sick in hospital made out and sent to the 
adjutant and commissary of the regiment, until this is at- 
tended to we can't draw rations for the day. Then break- 
fast. From eight to nine I remain in my office to receive 
and prescribe for the sick in tents, who are not able for 
duty, and yet not so ill as to be sent into hospital. I have 
usually from ten to forty men to examine. It is a nice 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 37 

thing to do justice to all and compel skulkers to do their 
duty, but after the first month these are spotted and pretty 
well understood. After the prescriptions for the sick in 
hospital have been filled, I visit camp, and see that the 
sanitary condition is all right, which occupies me till noom 
The afternoons I devote to miscellaneous readings and such 
official duty as may present. Sometimes I have been called 
at night to the camp, which is a fourth of a mile off. It is 
on a hill-side with a slough between us, and I have about 
reached the conclusion that it is better to go by water than 
by mud, and so I often take the wettest instead of the dry- 
est route. My letters I generally write at night, whilst the 
members of my mess are snoring it away around me. 

It has rained or snowed every day but four or five since 
we sat down here. The river is as sensitive as a barometer, 
fluctuates as rapidly, and to as great an extent. Take as an 
instance our recent great rise. On Saturday at sundown 
no fears were entertained as to the safety of the public 
property on the bank ; at eight a large detail of men was 
ordered to remove everything to higher ground ; at three 
a. m. the entire town plat was covered with water from 
one to three feet deep ; and in spite of all efforts a large 
amount of supplies was swept off. The plumb rise in 
twelve hours was fifty-five feet. That rise was on the 23d 
of February. On the 3d of March boats were arrested 
four miles below town by low water. 

I rode to the top of one of the highest hills back of town 
this evening, that I might enjoy a winter scene, such as I 
have not often looked on, and may never see again in such 
perfection. The snow of the morning was wet, and lodged 
everywhere it touched, and it powdered the heads and 
limbs of all the trees of the forest and bowed them into the 
line of beauty. I regret that I have not the painter's eye 
and hand to make you a sketch of it as it was. 



38 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

For a week I have felt like shouting all the time, " Glory 
to God in the highest, peace on earth and good will to 
man." I fancy some of your good neighbors will not join 
with me just now ; mighty apostles of peace they were in 
other days, nor did I join with them then. Verily they 
shall have their reward after a time. But I won't indulge 
longer in this strain, or I will betray myself into something 
imprudent. Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



Piketon, Kentucky, March 9, 1862. 
J. W. Calvert, Esq., Burlington, Ky. 

Dear Sir, — Yours of the 18 February reached me at noon 
to-day and I devote an hour to you in response. It had 
escaped my memory, that I had promised to write to you 
and I am much obliged to you for reminding me of it, as I 
wish to comply with all my promises. 

You ask for the numbers engaged on both sides in Gar- 
field's and Marshall's battle on Middle Creek, and for the 
losses in both armies. I have no data for saying what 
numbers Marshall had under command, except their own 
admissions, and I must say the same for the rebel killed. 
I can, however, say that our forces buried twenty-seven 
men left on the field by the enemy, and I further know 
that their friends here state their loss in killed and fatally 
wounded, at eighty and ninety. We lost one man killed 
on the field and had fourteen wounded, of whom four have 
since died, and quite a number have been ever since on 
sick list, in consequence of the exposure and hardships inci- 
dent to the forced march for three days, by which Garfield 
flanked Marshall. 

Garfield had in the field between eleven and twelve hun- 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 39 

dred men, though but five-hundred and twenty were brought 
into action. This number I state from his declaration made 
to me. 

Marshall was posted on a commanding hill, strongly 
entrenched, and his friends here say he had fifteen hundred 
men, and why he should have given up such a position 
without a more determined struggle is beyond the compre- 
hension of ordinary mortals. I know he said : "The Yan- 
kee Garfield has out-maneuvered me and I must fall back." 
I presume he thought his communications were in danger, 
but after the fight, and when the strength of his position 
was known, it was apparent to all that he could, by a deter- 
mined resistance, have inflicted on Garfield a disastrous 
defeat. 

The consequences of Marshall's rout are much more 
important than the world is generally aware of, as his branch 
of the rebel army is thoroughly disorganized. We con- 
stantly hear of desertions from him of men who were 
engaged in the fight, and more than fifty of his soldiers 
have voluntarily surrendered to Gen. Garfield, and have 
taken the oath of allegiance, and I believe they will abide 
by their action, as they have seen, not only the folly but 
the baseness of the attempt to overthrow the government, 
and also its utter futility. 

I passed through a portion of Marshall's entrenchments, 
but not the fort where the battle was fought. His artillery 
was badly handled, as his missiles went through the tops 
of the trees, doing but little damage, and therein consisted 
the great disparity of the slain. He relied on his cannon ; 
our men on their Minie rifles, which in a wooded moun- 
tain region will always be found the most efficient weapon. 

What will secessiondom in Boone do or say at the' vote 
of her senator in expelling James L. Johnstone for giving 
aid and comfort to a project which both he and they hope 
to see an accomplished fact? 



4 o LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

And what now of my other quondam friend ? 

Does he still think the government "not worth a Tinker's 
damn?" I trow not, and we have the extreme felicity to 
think alike once again. I could pity him if I had pity to 
spare for any man insane enough to desire the overthrow of 
our heritage of freedom by the establishment of a despot- 
ism as cruel, relentless and unprincipled as hell could hope 
for human institutions to be made. 

I see aspires to hold — virtually to hold — both 

clerkships in the county. The people have the right to 
elect whomsoever they will, but I fancy if all the bills 
before the legislature shall pass into laws, guarding the induc- 
tion of rebels into office, he will have some hard swearing to 
do before he gets in, and I fancy also, that he holds an oath 
to be just as binding in conscience and morals and law as 

his honor who on a memorable occasion in your 

court house said he would take one or not as it suited his 
convenience, and regard it or not just as it suited his inter- 
ests to do so. But a truce to all this political or personal 
talk, whichsoever you may consider it to be. 

My hospital is in the court house, and my office room 
is an exact model of the lodge room in Burlington, and, 
here as there, it is devoted to lodge meetings. The Master 
here is a dis-unionist, but he is the only mason here who is 
so. I attended, last week, a masonic interment — four 
miles below town — of a former member of this lodge. He 
died at Catlettsburg, to which place he had been compelled 
to flee to save his life, m September last, only because of 
his Union principles. He requested masonic interment, 
and his father had kept the body two weeks in the house, 
declaring it should remain there as long as he lived unless 
buried by the fraternity, and so the brethren of the Ohio 
and Kentucky regiments, to the number of fifty, with the 
few masons here, went down and paid him the last honors 
due to a brother. His father is wealthy for this region, 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 41 

and lives in the only brick house I have seen in the county 
except the court house. 

After attending the interment I was requested to return 
to the house to see a sick soldier of one of the Ohio regi- 
ments, who had been cared for by the family for some 
weeks, and after my examination and such suggestions as 
I thought proper to make, and when preparing to leave, 
the old lady followed me to the porch and said the young 
man wanted tea, coffee and sugar, but that for months the 
family had not a particle of either. You may be sure she 
got a bountiful supply, before the sun went down, of 
everything in our commissary stores suitable for him. 

I predict that Gen. Garfield's brigade will be sent down 
Sandy and the Ohio rivers, and up the Tennessee, before 
long, to the State of Tennessee, The politicians of Ohio 
are determined to make capital out of him; he will, there- 
fore, be sent to a new theater of operations. And we can, by 
the round-about way named, reach Knoxville sooner and 
at less expense than by the direct road. I hope the change 
will be made. 

A most atrocious crime was perpetrated last night eight 
miles above town by a band of marauders from Virginia. 
They snot (supposed fatally) one man, hanged another, 
and carried off a third prisoner, without any known cause 
but their faithfulness to the Union, or rather on the charge 
that they had given information to the military authorities 
here. 

Remember me kindly to enquiring friends. 
Very respectfully yours, 



42 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Camp Brownlow, Piketon, Kentucky, \ 
March 9, 1862. j 

Dear J., — Your letter of the 20th February reached me 
at noon to-day, and I thank you, doubly thank you for 
your kindly remembrance of me. You do me no more 
than justice when in your "mind's eye" you see me ex- 
ulting over the present prospect of a solid, substantial re- 
union of our distracted country ; for union victories are the 
only warranty for such a result. I have never thought 
myself very enthusiastic or demonstrative, but on receiving 
the recent glorious news, I gave such a loose rein to the 
expression of my feelings as to make officers of the Ohio 
regiments open their eyes with surprise and astonishment. 
Our division of the army is here condemned to inactivity; 
we can't go a mile beyond this point, as we have reached 
the tip-top of navigation, and the roads — I should rather 
say there are no roads here — are utterly impassable for an 
army. The rumors in camp to-day are that this brigade 
will within two weeks' time drop down the river, and then 
be sent to Tennessee by the Ohio and Cumberland rivers. 
I believe that is to be our ultimate destination, and if so, 
the journey can be much more expeditiously and cheaply 
performed by water than by land, and without the terrible 
strain on human life that must result from a march across 
the mountains. If we are doomed to the land route it 
cannot be attempted before June, because up to that time 
the roads cannot possibly be rendered passable, and even 
then the army would have to precede the provision train, 
and lay out and make new roads. 

What kind of weather have you had at Burlington? 
Here it has rained or snowed or blown almost without in- 
termission since our arrival. Without ocular proofs you 
can have no conception of the muddy, filthy condition of 
our streets and roads. Just think it ten times worse than 
anything you have witnessed in Burlington, and then the 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 43 

half of it is not told. But for my impervious boots I would 
have been under the mud before now ; as it is, however, I 
have done, I think, as much work as any man in the regi- 
ment, and stand up under it as well as the youngest and 
most robust of them all. 

There is much sickness in the regiment, chiefly a low 
typhoid form of fever, and when it attacks a man it holds 
on for weeks. I have now in hospital, men who entered 
it the night we reached here; they are feeble, attenuated 
and worn down to the bone, but will recover. I've had 
two to die in hospital and one from an accidental gun-shot 
wound. The large artery and vein of the thigh, both be- 
ing obliterated, he died before we could even get ready for 
amputation. 

The anxious enquiries of aunt Lydia reproach me for 
neglect in not having mentioned her in all my letters. I 
hope she will pardon me as I am "troubled with many 
things." I hope she is getting along very well. 

I think we have a kind, upright, conscientious, good 
man, as Chaplain ; he is devoted to the interests of the 
soldiers, and is withal a most pleasant, social, companion- 
able man. In some things our tastes agree very nicely. I 
take an egg-nog of mornings, just as a matter of duty, not 
that I am particularly fond of it; he joins in it, and seems 
grateful for all the blessings of Providence. Together we 
read Shakespeare and Tristram Shandy "o' nights," and 
thus relieve the tedium of camp life. By and by, when I 
get home, I will have him visit Burlington, and then, I 
trust, you may find my estimate of him is none too high. I 
have just read over to Sumner what I said of him, and he 
protests against your forming unjust opinions of him from 
what I may write, so I give you the benefit of his protest. 

I think you need not, as I think you do not, grieve over 
the flight of time; if you are growing older you do it so 



44 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

gracefully that none of your friends perceive a change for 
the worse. 

With the exception of a slight cough I am in good health, 
and as it cannot continue to rain always, I am anticipating 
much pleasure in viewing the magnificent scenery all round 
me, wlren nature puts on her mantle of green. Mine eyes 
are looking bedward. Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



Piketon, Kentucky, March 13, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — I was yesterday afternoon, in company 
with Chaplain Sumner and Adjutant Brown, on my way 
out of camp, to pay my especial respects to the king of 
the mountains hereabouts, when I was put under arrest 
and held in " durance vile," for two mortal hours. So 
you may see that Surgeons have no more immunity from 
these little annoying episodes of military life than other 
men. 

The Senior Surgeon of the brigade was on the day pre- 
vious arrested on charges preferred by his Colonel com- 
mandant, and he is now held subject to trial by court 
martial, and suspended from the discharge of all his du- 
ties, at a time when his services are much needed. You 
will naturally enough ask, what offence I have committed 
against military law ? I am not conscious of any violation 
of law since my connection with the army. My arrest 
was a civil one, and yet I think I have not violated any of 
the civil laws of the land. The arrest was made at the 
suit of a woman. Now be tender of my reputation, and 
don't blazon these things abroad. I hope, too, you won't 
feel any great degree of jealousy, as I am ready to declare 
myself blameless in my association with all the sex, in this 
and every other region. We must submit, however, to facts 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 45 

as they exist. I was held in confinement only two hours, 
but long enough to prevent my ascent of the highest peak 
in the county, in company with a couple of very pleasant 
gentlemen. 

The three last past days have been brilliant, glorious 
days of sunshine, and everybody in camp has enjoyed 
them with a zest. The mud has almost disappeared, and 
a man may now venture to black his boots, with the as- 
surance that at night he will be able to tell what they were 
made of, and for what purpose. 

In some of my recent letters I expressed the opinion 
that we would drop down the rivers to Tennessee. I have 
now to change that opinion. The indications at present 
point to Pound Gap, in West Virginia, which is some 
thirty-five miles ahead of us. I presume the object will 
not be accomplished without burning some "villainous 
saltpetre." When we go, and wherever we may go, I hope 
it will be to an assured success. * 

The health of the troops here is still impaired, as there 
are not less than seventy men of each regiment on sick 
list, and there are in Ashland four hundred and fifty sick. 
If we add to the sick in camp and hospital, those at home 
on sick leave, I think none of the regiments here can mus- 
ter more than half their maximum strength. 

Now here have I been rattling away on indifferent sub- 
jects, and holding you in suspense as to the cause of my 
arrest, but the truth will have to come out in the future, 
and will grow greater if not "wusser" by delay, so I will 
make a clean breast of it, and be done with the subject 
forever; expressing the hope, however, that you will par- 
don anything wrong in the matter, that is when I acknowl- 
edge the wrong. I said I was arrested at the suit of a 
woman. 

" Parturiunt monies, nascetur ridiculus mus." 

Which, being freely rendered into the vernacular, meaneth 



46 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

that I was arrested in my jaunt to the mountains, to preside 
at the introduction of a little feminine secessionist into 

this troublesome world of ours. Capt. I N , a 

hard nut, said I ought to have strangled the damned thing 
in its birth, but I was not disposed to visit the sins of the 
father on the helpless innocent. 

Love to all, with many kisses to the children. 

Yours truly, 



*The expedition to Pound Gap was carried out, and was a de- 
cided success. Col. Garfield broke up a nest of pestilent bush- 
whackers and mountain rangers, capturing quite a number of pris- 
oners without loss to his own troops. But government was not 
prepared to hold the position, and it was until near the close of the 
war made a point from whence predatory bands sallied out and 
harried the mountain section. Immediately on the return from 
this expedition, Col. Garfield, with most of the troops under his 
command, was ordered to Louisville, Ky. 



Louisville, Kentucky, March 28, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — I have mailed you two letters from this 
place since our arrival. I am now regularly established in 
tent as a soldier, and am getting on very well and com- 
fortably. But I think we will not be here very long, as 
Col. Monroe said to me this evening that I must hold my- 
self in readiness to move at any moment. 

We are encamped in an elevated, beautiful grove, over- 
looking the city, and half a mile east of it, and about the 
same distance south from the Kentucky State Institution 
for the Blind. The school is under the superintendence 
of Mr. Paten, who, you may remember, visited Burlington 
a few years since, with some of his blind boys and girls. I 
suppose that you cannot have forgotten that we entertained 
for the night the girls he had with him. He came into 
camp yesterday afternoon with fifteen or twenty of his 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 47 

blind pupils, among them two of the children we enter- 
tained, now grown young women. 

I renewed my acquaintance with him, when he mani- 
fested much pleasure in meeting me, and gave me a press- 
ing invitation to visit the school to-day, which I did in 
company with Captain Worthington. The school is a 
credit to the state, and one of which every citizen may 
justly feel proud. Whilst at the institution Mr. Paten pro- 
posed a ride in his carriage to the city water works and 
the reservoir. I had beside me a little witch of a girl all 
the way from the far off down east city of Portland, Maine, 
and I played the gallant after my blandest fashion, and 
did my best to make her believe me a widower, but the 
cunning little minx heard Paten the day before ask about 
you, and thus my fun was knocked into fits ; but I took 
security for the future by engaging her to wait for Willie ; 
so you may tell him he is promised, not only once but 
twice. I send inclosed a letter written by a little blind girl, 
of eleven, and addressed to him, on the strength of which 
I promised him to her also, so you see he is likely to have his 
hands or arms full. I sealed the contract with a kiss, and 
that I am sure ought to make it indissoluble. Now don't 
turn up your nose in anger and claim all my kisses as your 
own ; you have indulged me so long in kissing the pretty 
clean-faced children that I begin to feel myself a privileged 
character in the way of kisses, 

I have met here with Aunt Betsy Stevenson and her son 
David and his wife, and I spent an evening with them. I 
have also met Rev. J. H. Linn, and was invited to his 
house to tea this evening, but it was inspection day, and I 
could not attend. I regret to say that his sympathies are 
all with the rebellion. 

I said in a former letter that if Dr. Manfred reached here 
in time, I would ask a furlough for a few days, but as yet he 
has not appeared. Where he is or what detains him I know 



48 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

not. Whilst I was with the regiment he was assisting in 
the hospital at Ashland, but he left there before the regi- 
ment passed that point on its way down the river, and he is 
now, I suppose, in Covington. I think I will hardly be 
spared at present, and now regret I did not have you and 
Kate visit me here, but it is now too late. 

Take it all in all, my meeting with relatives and old 
friends, my visit to the school, the water works, and to 
Cave Hill Cemetery, together with a glowing, brilliant sun 
have made this the most pleasant day I have passed since 
I left home. But everything pleasant has its end, and my 
day of brilliance and beauty has ended in a night of gloom 
and storm and the blackest darkness, which is relieved only 
by the " speedy gleams " which the " darkness swallows," 
and which for the instant illumines every nook and cranny 
of my tent. 

I have not had a letter from home for a full month. On 
this line the mail facilities will be much better, and more 
expeditious, so, I hope you will avail yourself of these 
circumstances to write oftener than you have heretofore. 

If we are ordered off to-morrow I will drop you a note to 
say where. Much love to all, with many kisses to the chil- 
dren. Yours truly, 



Louisville, Kentucky, April 2, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — I reached camp at six o'clock Tuesday 
morning, and found all quiet. There seems some hitch 
about orders to-day, as I understand there is doubt when 
and where we are to go. Yesterday we thought it Cum- 
berland Gap, and all were pleased. 

On my return I found Dr. Manfred in Camp ; if I had 
only known as much when in Burlington I would certainly 
have remained the day out. To run home over a hundred 
miles to remain only five hours is too bad; but, after all, 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 49 

as I would have had the pain of parting to undergo, it 
is best as it is. 

The paymaster came, along yesterday, and paid officers 
for another month, and I sent to the Covington branch of 
the Northern Bank of Kentucky one hundred and ten dol- 
lars, subject to your order. Let me advise you to use your 
means as economically as possible, because if the war lasts 
long we will witness much destitution and misery all over 
the land. 

I will write again and let you know our destination when 
the authorities settle the matter, arid until then my specula- 
tions would all be vain. We have news to-day that Garfield 
is made a Brigadier-General, and ordered elsewhere — to 
Nashville. What it means the future must reveal. 

Love to all, with kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



Lexington, Kentucky, April 7, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — I owe you an apology for waiting so long 
to write to you. For two days before leaving Louisville I 
was too busy to do so, and the same reason has prevented 
my writing since we reached this city. We came by rail on 
Saturday, and did not get in until after dark — the men 
lying for the night in the railroad depot. I, however, 
sought accommodations at the Broadway Hotel. At 
Frankfort one of our men, Patrick Burns, fell under the 
cars just as the train entered the tunnel, and was crushed 
to death. 

Yesterday, Sunday, I took my horse and rode to George- 
town to see mother, relatives, and friends. Outside of 
kith and kin I was coldly received, the national blue being 
there rather unpopular. 

It has been raining all day, and our camp is just as un- 
comfortable here as up Big Sandy, and the rain is still 



50 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

pouring down (nine p. m.), with every prospect for a 
stormy night all through. I think the weather will prevent 
a march for some days to come. As yet I have met but 
few of my old acquaintances here, and the present condi- 
tion of the heavens and the streets will prevent my making 
calls. 

In company with one of the best officers of the regi- 
ment, I to-day — raining as it was — visited the cemetery 
grounds and the monument of Mr. Clay. The former are 
well kept and beautiful every way, and the latter is a fitting 
tribute — magnificent and grand — to the great man whose 
memory it was erected to perpetuate. 

I have no time just now to write more, as I want yet 
before I lie down to give some of your good neighbors a 
blow. You will find it in the Gazette. Let me hear from 
you at this place, and if we have marched it will follow us. 

Love to all, with kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



Lexington, Kentucky, April 9, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — I have been patiently hoping to hear from 
you, but as yet, since leaving home, I have been kept in 
profound ignorance of events transpiring in Burlington. 
I take it as granted you have written, but the mails every- 
where seem to be disorganized. I hope you receive my 
letters more speedily than I do yours. 

The hospitals here are full with the sick. How men who 
tramp round all day in mud and water ankle deep, and 
then lie down at night to sleep in blankets saturated with 
water, can preserve health is a mystery to me. No men of 
mortal mould and made of flesh and blood can long with- 
stand such exposures without disease and death following. 

I am comfortably housed, and am doing as well as at any 
previous time. I had my tent erected, but having the op- 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 51 

portunity to occupy a house within our lines, I decided to 
do so when the rain set in. 

We have just received the telegraphic news of the 
victory at Pittsburg Landing. It seems to me the rebellion 
is waning, and I assure you no man in the army will re- 
joice more sincerely than I at its speedy close and the 
privilege to return to domestic life. 

Let me hear regularly from your father. This has been 
for him a terrible day if it was as rainy, snowy, and 
"blowy" as with us here. I had hoped to meet with Mr. 
Parrish, but suppose the same reasons that confine me to 
camp keep him at home. Love to all. 
Yours truly, 



Lexington, Kentucky, April 10, 1862. 

Dear Daughter, — Your letter of the 14th March has 
finally overtaken me at this place this evening. I have 
but little time to respond, indeed I have no time to do 
more than acknowledge its reception and thank you for it, 
which I do doubly, as it is a most creditable production, 
replete with just sentiments felicitously expressed. You 
have a faculty for epistolary composition which I trust you 
will cultivate and polish to the utmost of your power. 

I visited a lady this evening with whom I boarded when 
I attended the medical college at this place years since. 
She is now a widow, and the owner of property in the city. 
Her chief means of support are drawn from her rents, and 
these, she told me, had fallen in value more than one-half 
since the breaking out of the war, and the value of her 
city property has depreciated in a corresponding ratio, yet 
she is the most furious dis-unionist I have ever met with. 
There is no accounting for the folly and madness of the 
human biped; so I will not attempt it in this instance. 



52 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

She treated me with great kindness and courtesy, notwith- 
standing we differ in all things wide as the poles.* 

I have not heard from home since leaving there. I hope 
you write, and I give you credit for doing so. Love to all. 
Yours truly, 



"*"As I rose to take leave she addressed me in her olden-time, 
familiar style of my younger years : "Ben, I have one request to 
make." " It shall be granted, Madam," said I, "before expressed, 
if possible." "Well, for my sake and for the Lord's sake never 
wear the light blue cavalryman's breeches." I promised; but, 
amused at so singular a request, I begged for a reason. She waved 
the point, and attended me to the door, where I renewed my de- 
mand for the reason. "Well, well," she said; "when well worn 
in the seat they are suggestive." We parted then, and before I was 
again in Lexington she had taken her chamber in " the silent halls 
of death." 

Jackson County, Kentucky, April 16, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — Since I left home I have not permitted so 
long an interval of time as this last one to elapse without 
writing to you. My apology is that we have been con- 
stantly on the move. Another reason is, I have been 
anxiously waiting to hear from you. Practically, you seem 
to me to be as far off as the city of London. 

We left Lexington last Friday, and have just reached the 
border of Jackson County, and we are now entering the 
mountain region of the State. The more I see of it the 
better I like it, and if the war were ended, I would ask no 
better fate than to live and die and be buried on some of 
the mountain peaks in view. 

When up the Sandy I saw scenery that was grand and 
imposing, but on the Kentucky River I have found land- 
scape after landscape of surpassing beauty and magnificence. 

I footed it for five miles this morning, and am now tak- 
ing advantage of an hour gained on the regiment in pen- 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 53 

ciling this. I am sitting on the huge stump of a forest poplar, 
once a giant of the woods, but now, alas ! all that remains 
of it is but the decaying, rotting evidence of its former 
greatness. 

A citizen, a dweller of the mountains, on a lean, lank 
mountain horse, wending his way down into Blue-grass, 
stopped and talked with me. From him I first heard of 
the arrest of James B. Clay, who was stealthily making his 
way down into Dixie. He was halted by a lad of sixteen, 
and at the muzzle of a rifle he was compelled to surrender. 
Think of it : the son of a father whose whole political life 
had been a prolonged warfare and protest against secession 
making his way through the mountains to get where he 
might fight for secession. 

The lines of Scott recurred to my memory : 

" Breathes there the man, with soul so dead, 
Who never to himself hath said, 

This is my own, my native land ! 
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burn'd, 
As home his footsteps he hath turn'd, 

From wandering on a foreign strand ! 
If such there breathe, go, mark him well ; 
For him no minstrel raptures swell ; 
High though his titles, proud his name, 
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim ; 
Despite those titles, power, and pelf, 
The wretch, concentered all in self, 
Living, shall forfeit fair renown, 
And, doubly dying, shall go down 
To the vile dust, from whence he sprung, 
Unwept, unhonor'd, and unsung. "* 

. . . . The advance is now up, and I pause for 

the present Two p. m. — After waiting an 

hour, I concluded to take the back track, and witness the 
advance of the wagon train up "Big Hill." I omitted 
before to say we reached the foot of Big Hill this morning, 



54 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

which introduces us into the mountain region. You may- 
form some idea of the difficulty of transportation when I 
tell you that our wagon train has been four mortal hours in 
accomplishing one and a half miles, and now, at the end 
of that time, only four out of twenty-seven wagons are up. 

At noon yesterday we halted on a nice green plat by the 
roadside to take our noon-day lunch. A beautiful purling 
brook flowed through the plain, and on a slight elevation 
opposite stood a number of sightly young ladies. • I could 
not resist the temptation to draw on them my field glass, 
which they observed ; and so after looking to my satisfac- 
tion, I thought it but an act of gallantry to cross over and 
give them their revenge by letting them take a peep at the 
regiment. Three of them had attended Sumner's school, 
and he was soon beside them ; and in a little time he and 
I were whisked off a quarter of a mile to partake of the 
nicest dinner I have sat down to since enjoying one of your 
mother's best. I found a pleasant family, owning one of 
the prettiest farms in Madison County. There was but 
one thing connected with the visit to mar ray pleasure — 
Sumner got all the kisses. He seems very popular with 
the girls, who have gone to school to him. You know me 
for a remarkably modest man, so I could not offer to follow 
suit after my brief acquaintance. I hope you sympathize 
with me in so grievous a disappointment. By and by, I will 
take indemnity for the past, and security for the future, too, 
in kissing somebody he does not know. 

Our route will take us through London, in Laurel 
County, and Barboursville, in Knox. At the rate we are 
now progressing, it will require ten days to reach the latter 
town. I expect to meet Edward Parrish, whose regiment 
is in the neighborhood of Cumberland Gap ; and I may 
perchance meet Joel Ridgell, who is major in the 7th 
Kentucky Infantry 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 55 

Thursday Morning, VKth. 

We pitched tents at seven o'clock yesterday evening 
after eleven hours of the severest toil I have ever seen 
horse and mule-flesh undergo. The teams were doubled, 
ten and twelve mules to one wagon, and yet only four- 
teen have reached the top of the hill. We lay by to-day 
for the balance of the wagons to be brought up, and to 
re-shoe the mules, many of them having cast shoes during 
the severe labor of yesterday. 

The rumor of the day is that the rebels have abandoned 
the Gap. With the railroads of Tennessee in our posses- 
sion, it seems to me the best thing they can do, as, by re- 
maining, they are liable to attack from all sides. 

* * * Love to all, with many kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



*In 1858 James B. Clay defeated Roger Hanson in the old Ash- 
land district for Congress. In 1859 the Whig State Convention 
assembled at Louisville. Clay, though not a delegate, attended, 
and, as a member of Congress, he was invited to a seat on the 
platform beside the President of the convention. Dr. Churchill 
J. Blackburn, a delegate from Kenton County, and a life-long 
friend and adherent of Henry Clay, in some remarks addressed to 
the convention referred to the opinions of Mr. Clay. James B. 
sprang to his feet to inquire if it were his opinions referred to. 
Dr. Blackburn raised himself to his utmost height and ex- 
claimed: "My God! Mr. President, I have never known but 
one Mr. Clay in all my life." TJie prompt repartee brought the 
house down like a thousand of brick. 

Had Clay resisted arrest, and been killed, his friends might have 
regarded him as a martyr to his opinions. He did not believe in 
the right of secession; but when discharged from arrest, he made 
his way to the South to fight for it. He haggled and contended 
for positions which the rebel authorities were unwilling to grant 
him. Disgusted with rebeldom, he fled to Nassau, and thence to 
Canada, to die among strangers, an exile from his home. 



56 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Rock House, Laurel County, Ky., 

April 20, 1862. 

Dear Daughter, — I wrote to your mother three days 
since, and now devote the hour to you. 

We have been for a week dragging our slow length along 
through days of rain and roads of deep, almost fathom- 
less mud. With the greatest difficulty and toil, we can 
barely make from five to seven miles per day. 

On this Sabbath evening I am sitting in " mine inn- en- 
joying mine ease " beside the glowing light of a pine knot 
flame, surrounded by a jolly squad of songsters, who are 
pouring out their voices in melody to the "Red, White 
and Blue." You would be interested to witness the scene, 
and observe the style of architecture of our house for the 
night. It is a building of great antiquity ; all its apart- 
ments having been planned and scooped out by old Father 
Time, whose works will stand when those of man shall 
have perished. I wish I could give you a sufficient de- 
scription of our shelter for the night, but my powers are 
inadequate for the task. Let it suffice to say that after a 



Roger Hanson was a man of much more force of character and 

ability than Clay, and he was, withal, a magnificent fighter. 

"Wi' tippenny he feared nae evil; 
Wi' usquabae he'd face the devil!" 

He was a soldier of fortune, and without convictions. When in- 
formed by the State Military Commission that his application for a 
Colonel's Commission in a Kentucky regiment was favorably acted 
upon, he sent word to the board — after putting fifty miles of space 
between them — that the notification reached him twelve hours too 
late : he was then on his way to Dixie. 

I was told a good thing of Roger by a man who was once on his 
staff. Walking out one day on his parade ground he heard a com- 
pany officer calling on his men to fall in; his order was, "fall in, 
gentlemen; fall in, gentlemen." "Stop that," said Roger; 
'* there are no gentlemen in the army. There is nothing here but 
officers and soldiers." He was killed at the battle of Stone River. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 57 

day of incessant rain, we crossed Rockcastle River just in 
time to flee to the crevices and fastnesses of the cliffs and 
hills for protection against the driving rain, which came 
down with increasing fury. I must say I have not wit- 
nessed so merry a time since entering the service as we 
have had this evening. Every man in the regiment was 
soaked to the skin, but, by building roaring log fires, all 
have become dry, and now we are merry as crickets. My 
squad has in it some twenty men, and we are as securely 
sheltered against the driving rain of the night as you in your 
house, except that one side of ours is open to the wind. 
Our fires are built on the outside, or rather on the outer 
edge of our chambers, but not so far out as to be in danger 
of being extinguished by the rain, and instead of twenty 
we could securely shelter a hundred men. You may won- 
der why we sought such shelter, having tents. The 
ground selected for our camp is a narrow plain or bottom 
at the foot of a steep hill side, and just after pitching our 
tents the entire surface was flooded, ankle deep, and we 
were but too glad to secure our present protection. 

In my last letter to your mother I mentioned the scenery 
along the Kentucky River. I was more than pleased, was 
enchanted with it, and, indeed, with all of Madison 
County, though it can't properly be considered as moun- 
tainous. Jackson, Rockcastle, and Laurel, however, are 
mountain counties, and present a continuous, almost un- 
varying prospect of winding road amid hills piled on the 
top of hills, clothed to their summits with evergreen, pine, 
hemlock, and cedar. Among the prettiest sights that I have 
seen is an old field thrown out as too poor for cultivation, 
and since grown up in young pines. Ten years will pro- 
duce a growth which in Boone would add incalculable 
value to her farms, not alone for the beauty, but also for 
the increased fertility they would impart to the soil. 

When I was up Sandy you heard enough of the rain 



58 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

and the mud, but as we were then lying still we had but a 
slight conception of the difficulty of transporting supplies 
for an army over land. The route we are now passing 
over has been used throughout the entire past winter for 
conveying subsistence for the troops in the neighborhood 
of Cumberland Gap and Somerset. I suppose Govern- 
ment has on the road at least a thousand wagons, and they 
have been coming and going without intermission. Not a 
day has passed since we left Lexington without our meet- 
ing at least fifty wagons. This will give you some idea of 
our troubles. It is an every-day occurrence to have 
wagons overturned in mud almost deep enough to bury 
them out of sight ; that fate befell the hospital wagon twice 
yesterday, and at each time requiring the removal and re- 
packing of all our medical supplies. This, however, will 
give you but a faint view of our difficulties. To have a 
train of fifty wagons arrested for hours by one stuck in the 
mud is enough to try the patience of any man, but then 
to witness the brutality of teamsters and listen to their 
profanity is too much for humanity to bear. 

Sumner says after the war we must erect a monument to 
the patient, long-suffering mule, and, if done, I propose 
that we collect their scattered bones along this route to 
build it with. 

Our fires had burned dim when Worthington, Sumner, 
and myself, armed with torches, clambered up the cliff to 
the summit in search of pine knots. They are one of the 
great products of this region of country, and almost an in- 
dispensable article of domestic economy, being the chief 
fuel and the only light used in the family circle. And 
having returned from the cliff with an abundant supply of 
fuel for the night, and rebuilt our fires, we purpose now — 
each having selected a soft sand-stone for a pillow — to 
retire for the night, all the rest of our squad having done 
so half an hour since, though I can't say, to silence and 
sleep. Good night and pleasant dreams to you. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 59 

21st, Morning. 

We have had a pleasant night of it, marred only by but 
a single little incident. Hereabouts the natives have a 
beverage which they call "mountain dew," which stimu- 
lates some, if indulged in freely, and some of my squad 
innocently happened to imbibe a little bit too much of 
Dame Nature's brewage, and, under its mellowing influ- 
ence, became somewhat boisterous and a little belligerent. 

The roll is beating for the march to commence, and I 
stop. Still I hear nothing from home. 

Love to all. Yours truly, 



Camp McNeal, Laurel County, Kentucky, 

April 23, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — We are now camped on ground occupied 
for three weeks last October by General Zollicoffer, and we 
are in six miles of " Camp Wild Cat," the scene of his 
first defeat in the State. 

We hear the same tales of outrage and wrong perpe- 
trated by rebels that we heard up Big Sandy. I dined day 
before yesterday with a family that keeps a road-side inn, 
and there learned, from the wife and mother, the details 
of the arrest and holding as prisoners of war Mr. Nelson — 
who owns the inn — and his son, a young man of twenty. 
The son was a member of the home-guard, but had never 
been in battle ; the father had remained quietly at home, 
but he did not hesitate to express his hatred for the rebel- 
lion. Zollicoffer's cavalry consumed all his last year's crop 
of corn, oats, and hay, took every horse on his farm, all 
the saddles, bridles, and guns, they could find, and when 
Mr. Nelson expostulated with manly firmness against such 
treatment, he and his son were arrested and sent to starve 
in the prison pens of the South. On the 27th day of Oc- 
tober last, Gen. Zollicoffer sent from this neighborhood 



60 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

twenty-seven men — citizens, not soldiers — as prisoners of 
war ; among them one man, Hugh Jackson, seventy years 
old. When last heard from — in March — twelve of the 
number had already died. It is such deeds as these that 
exasperate the mountain men against the leaders of the 
rebellion. * 

Laurel County, on its borders, is made up of cliffs and 
high hills, but as we get off from the river it becomes 
level, and may be said to be an elevated plain instead of 
being mountainous. It will, under proper cultivation, be 
a fine grazing region, and also be well adapted to the 
growth of the cereals and fruits. I am glad to find a country 
so much superior to anything I had expected. The more 
I see of my native State the more I love it, and the prouder 
I am of the position it has taken, f 

I hoped to find letters for the regiment at London, but 
the mail had passed through to Cumberland Ford, which 
point we will not reach for ten days at our present rate of 
progression. My last letter from home is Kate's of 14th 
of March. 

I am thoroughly well, and have nothing to complain of, 
as my absence from home was and is voluntary. 

Love to all, with kisses for the children. 

Yours truly, 



* Mr. Nelson and his son both died in rebel prisons, and the 
wife and mother soon followed them, and the farm passed to 
strangers. Hugh Jackson, after twelve months' imprisonment, 
returned home to die soon after. 

|At this period the writer thought a large majority of the people 
of the State were in favor of preserving the integrity of the nation. 
Subsequent developments forced him to the conclusion that they 
cared more for the preservation of slavery than of the government. 

The saddest sight I ever saw was at this point : 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 61 

Flat Lick, Knox County, Kentucky, I 

April 30, 1862. j 

Dear Wife, — We reached here this morning, and I 
found six letters waiting for me. Two of them I suppose 
had gone on to Piketon, and followed me all round from 
that point. Yours of the 22d inst. is the latest in date. I 
wrote to you two days since at Barboursville, where I was 
detained in attendance on our sick. This camp is ten 
miles south of Barboursville, six miles north of the ford, 
and twenty from the Gap. There will, I suppose, be a 
severe conflict of arms at the Gap, or an evacuation, as 
General Morgan, our new commander, has the means, 
when every thing is in readiness, to make a strong demon- 
stration. The position is naturally very strong and engi- 
neering art has made it more so. 

The country we are passing through is still to me en- 
chanting, and if I get safely out of the war I hope to re- 
turn to it again and have you with me. I thank you for 
the bouquet ; I will preserve it as long as possible as a 
memento of Burlington. I have still a warm place in my 

Our camp was called from a hostelry near which we pitched our 
tents. 

Walking in the direction of the house I found a man lying in a 
corner of the fence dying from exposure and famine. 

He was a loyal East Tennessee man, and was fleeing from rebel 
conscription, and had been in hiding in the mountains for six 
weeks houseless, homeless, starving. He reached this point just 
as the regiment did. He was making his way to Camp Dick Rob- 
inson to join a Tennessee regiment organizing there. 

I called a couple of soldiers, procured blankets, and had him as 
comfortably cared for as possible for the night, supplying the land- 
lady with tea, coffee, and crackers, and I gave him such stimulants 
as I thought proper. In the morning I found him dead — the most 
meager, attenuated corpse I ever saw. 

Could devotion to country further go ? 

Col. Lindsey ordered the regimental Quartermaster to bury him. 



62 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

heart for Boone County, which would be warmer still if 
she would only set herself right, politically. Here on the 
borders of Tennessee, in a county of fifteen hundred 
voters, only forty men could be found reckless enough to 
desire the overthrow of the government, and since the 
wanton wrongs of Zollicoffer's rabble, none can be found. 
Compare this with the loyalty — or rather the lack of 
loyalty — of Boone, and what a contrast ! Here their trade 
was exclusively with the south, and all their money was 
drawn from that section ; but that was no bribe to corrupt 
and debase a people who lived under and enjoyed the pro- 
tection of the most benign of governments. I fear I bore 
you with my political disquisitions, and will try to quit. 

I will rejoice as. sincerely as you can at returning peace, 
as I have no tastes to gratify in an army ; and I see, every 
day, scenes to disgust and make me sick of some of the 
phases of human characters. War is demoralizing, and 
but few men can engage in it and return to the walks of 
civil society with the purity of sentiment and feeling they 
formerly possessed. I claim no exemption from the 
frailties of man, but thus far I have tried to demean my- 
self in a proper and decorous manner, and I hope to con- 
tinue to do so. 

I met Edward Parrish yesterday. He is well, and be- 
gins to look the man rather than the boy. 

Kiss the children for me, and give my regards to en- 
quiring friends. 

Yours truly, 



Barboursville, Kentucky, ) 

May 4, 1862. j 
Dear Wife, — I am here again, looking after some of our 
sick in hospital. When I last wrote I was complaining 
some. It was one of my neuralgic attacks of which you 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 63 

have known me to complain in other days. An anodyne 
with a day of rest set me all right again. 

The regiment is still at Flat Lick, but I think it will 
leave there for the Ford to-morrow morning ; thence to the 
Gap is fourteen miles. An advance on that position will 
not be ordered for some time to come. A flanking move- 
ment is now in progress, intended, however, more as a 
feint or reconnoissance than gravely to menace the post; 
but until a safe lodgment is made on the flank, there will 
be no attack in front. Twenty thousand men could not 
take the position by direct assault, if gallantly defended; 
so say those who ought to know. 

I have nothing more to say to-day, but God bless you 
all. 

Yours truly, 



Flat Lick, Knox County, Kentucky, ) 

May 6, 1862. J 

Dear Wife, — Dr. Manfred goes to Barboursville this 
morning, and I write to you a few lines. 

We leave this point this morning; for an advance of only 
two miles, however. 

Night before last an alarm was given at 1 a. m. The 
regiment was speedily under way and marched, through a 
misting rain, to meet an expected attack of the enemy; 
but they thought better of it and concluded not to come. 
It was a cold, drizzling, misty night, dark and black as 
Erebus. We were kept in line of battle until nine. It 
was altogether a most uncomfortable movement. I have 
never felt a colder rain in the month of May. Our clothes 
were saturated with water, and all were eager for breakfast 
when marched back to camp. 

We are having little affairs with the enemy's pickets 
daily ; as yet the advantage has been all on our side, as 



64 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

we have captured a number of men and horses without 
any loss on our part. It continued to rain all of yesterday, 
but this morning the sun is out most brilliantly, and all 
nature looks cheerful and happy. 

When the long roll called all men to arms, a scene of 
excitement, such as I had not anticipated, ensued. Men 
who had been on sick list for a week, and men whom I be- 
lieved to be shamming, were all eager for a brush, and 
you may well conceive my surprise, at daylight, at seeing 
in the ranks many men whom I had regarded as arrant 
paltroons. The inaction of camp preys on the feelings, 
hopes, strength, and health of soldiers vastly more than the 
active duties of military life. 

I am improving, though not entirely relieved; clear, 
warm weather will soon do the work for me. Love to all, 
with many kisses for the children. 

Yours truly, 



Camp Cochran, Knox County, Kentucky, > 

May 9, 1862. [ 
Dear Wife, — Your letter of the 3d inst. reached me 
yesterday evening, and I take the first opportunity to re- 
spond. We are now in two and a half miles of the Ford. 
Government is still concentrating forces at this point 
preparatory to an attack on the rebel stronghold in this 
region. You may rest assured when the time comes a 
sure thing will be made of it; and patient, long-suffering, 
patriotic East Tennessee will be relieved from a thraldom 
more galling, despotic, and bloody than any known in 
modern times. I have talked with many of the sufferers, 
and all concur in stating the most enormous wrongs and 
outrages perpetrated on men, women, and helpless children. 
The rebel authorities tolerate these things, and are re- 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 6 5 

sponsible for them; they must therefore be driven out of 
their stronghold ; and out they will be forced, by direct bat- 
tle, or by flank movements ; and that soon. 

I am in a country grand and glorious to a lover of rug- 
ged nature. It feasts the eye, but it feasts no other sense 
or appetite. It is literally eaten out. I have witnessed 
sights I hope not to see again. Our horses and mules 
have been, for two days at a time, without a grain of corn 
or oats, or a blade of grass or hay. My sympathies were 
keenest for Charley ; he, too, had to suffer with the others, 
and his lank sides begin to show it. I hope for the best 
for him, as grass is beginning to spring up, but there are 
no enclosures along the road, and if I turn him out there 
is danger of his wandering off. 

I met Joel Ridgell to-day. He is Lieutenant-Colonel of 
the 7th Kentucky Infantry, which is in this division. He 
is generally and favorably known throughout all this region. 
He asked to be remembered to your father's and Mrs. 
Porter's families; you will please attend to the messages. 
My health is entirely restored, and I now only want a more 
active life than that of lying idle in camp. The amount of 
sickness in the regiment is not great, and does not keep 
me busy, aided as I am by Dr. Manfred. I find him a 
most intelligent gentleman. English by birth, with a 
pretty thorough English and classical education, and withal, 
he has a fund of anecdote and humor that is quite enter- 
taining. Manfred, Sumner, and myself, are said to make 
the merriest mess in the regiment. Both of them are fon- 
der of the creature comforts of life than I am, and so do 
not get on as well on a meager bill of fare as I do. It 
would amuse you sometimes to see our table arrangements; 
coffee, corn bread, and fat middling, and for variety, mid- 
dling, coffee, and army crackers hard enough to knock a 
mule down with ; and our coffee often without sugar. 



66 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

I have written up my sheet and so must stop. May God 
bless and preserve you. Kiss the children for me. 

Yours truly, 



Camp Cochran, Knox County, Kentucky, > 

May 11, 1862. J 

Dear Wife, — I received a few days since, a letter from 
Kate, and answered immediately, addressed to Burlington, 
though thinking at the time she would be in Maysville on 
its reception. We are camped still two miles north of the 
Ford, and we have here, in all, five Tennessee, four Ken- 
tucky, three Indiana, and two Ohio regiments of infantry. 
There is a battalion of Kentucky cavalry, and I believe 
three full batteries of artillery, armed with Parrot guns, 
now regarded as the best style of rifled field ordnance. 

Our detention here is for the purpose of drill, and to 
accustom the regiments to combined action. We are in 
daily expectation of the arrival of some heavy siege guns, 
now on the road and near us. So soon as they come up, 
I suppose we will make an advance. I will try to keep 
you advised of our movements. 

On Saturday last I rode up to the Ford and crossed over, 
and on my return I dismounted among a squad of Wis- 
consin boys and took a plunge in the Cumberland. Here 
above the falls (they are fifty miles lower down the river) 
the stream is small, but the clearest, most pellucid stream 
of water I have ever seen. 

The country is much superior to that about Piketon. 
The river bottoms are wider, and the hills, though higher, 
are not so steep and abrupt. I see here none of the pine 
and cedar ; but the hills are clothed to their summits with 
stately oaks, poplars, walnut, cherry, and beech, the growth 
that distinguishes the best land of the state. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 67 

Our encampment is immediately on the river, with a 
wide bottom just above us, on which some thousands of 
men, for six hours a day display their knowledge of tactics. 

The floods and armies here, as elsewhere, have inflicted 
great loss and damage on farms along the river and roads. 
Entire farms have been stripped of their last rail, and will 
not be cultivated this year. 

We are in profound ignorance of all that is going on in 
the outside world. We have rumors of the blowing up 
and then of the sinking of the Merrimac, but no authentic 
confirmation of the news. The telegraphic wires pass us 
in going to the Ford, but they are used exclusively by 
government officials, and they keep their counsels to them- 
selves. 

Sitting in my tent and looking up the river, bounded and 
hemmed in with its magnificent range of hills, I think the 
view one of the finest for the landscape painter that I 
have seen. I am not alone in this opinion, as all who have 
observed it, and have a particle of taste, concur with me. 
If we had with us a competent artist I would cheerfully 
have it put on canvass. 

I saw in the Louisville Journal of the 7th, the rebel ac- 
count of a little skirmish between our forces and the rebels 
at the Gap some two weeks since; in which the writer 
acknowledges the loss of seventeen men killed and thirty 
odd wounded. Our loss he put down at one hundred and 
fifty killed, and three hundred and fifty wounded. I know 
nothing more of their loss than the writer states, but ours 
I do know all about. Two men were wounded on our 
side, and only two: both of them of the 16th Ohio. One 
of them was buried yesterday ; the other man is now dis- 
charging his duty as a soldier. The expedition was a mere 
reconnoissance, and was not intended, or expected, to bring 
on a general engagement. When the time comes for de- 



68 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

cisive action I feel very confident of a favorable result, 
though it may not be accomplished without much blood 
being spilled. 

Love to all, with kind regards to friends, and kisses to 
the children. Yours truly, 



Camp Cochran, Knox County, Kentucky, | 

May 21, 1862. j 

Dear Wife, — We still occupy the same camping ground, 
sixteen miles north from the Gap. 

The large siege guns passed here yesterday and are now 
at the Ford. We have now three batteries of field artillery ; 
ten pieces to each battery, and one section of siege guns : 
in all thirty-two pieces. The rumor in camp to-day is that 
all the regiments commence the march to-morrow to place 
the siege guns in position. Our's are Parrot guns, and of 
much longer range than any the rebels have, unless they 
have received fresh guns since our last reconnoissance. 

I received last night a letter from Dr. Wm. L. Graves, of 
Petersburg. He gives a rather gloomy account of the con- 
dition in Boone. I know not what may be the result of 
the violent and malignant action of the dis-unionists of 
the State, but I trust government will come down on 
them with a power and force that will command respect 
and obedience to law, and quench — if need be, in blood 
— any attempt to inaugurate anarchy by lawless bands. 
Here, as I have before said, all men are loyal, and they 
know not how to account for such a feeling in favor of re- 
bellion as exists in Boone. 

Mrs. Ridgell was in camp to-day on a visit to her hus- 
band, who is in very bad health. He would tender a res- 
ignation at once, if a battle were not impending. 

Love to all, with kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 69 

Moss House, Knox County, Kentucky, > 

May 26, 1862. } 

Dear Wife, — In my last I told you we would move for- 
ward the next day, and for once the camp rumor proved 
to be true. At twelve and a half o'clock on the appointed 
day we were under way, crossed the river, and, after 
marching five or six miles, pitched tents on the hill-sides of 
a valley leading in the direction of the Gap. 

We are now on ground occupied by Gen. Zollicoffer last 
fall. He had the timber along the roadside cut down for 
a mile to extend the field of observation, and to afford free 
range to his cannon shot. 

Generals Morgan and Carter, and Col. De Courcey are 
now out on a reconnoissance to determine the mode of at- 
tack. Gen. Morgan has under command fourteen regi- 
ments but none of them are full. I doubt whether he can 
muster ten thousand men fit for duty. The position will 
be assailed in front and flank and the present indications 
are that our brigade will be sent to the left (rebel) flank. 
This conclusion I draw, because our men are working the 
road leading in that direction. By the direct road, we are 
ten miles from the Gap, but the flanking movement will re- 
quire a detour of thirty miles to the west, and the route will 
take us by Boston in Whitley county. You will be able to 
trace our march on the map. 

Two miles this side of the Gap is a tavern stand, which in 
other days was largely patronized. The owner of it had 
the protection of government all his life, and when rebellion 
raised its "horrid front," he nailed the " stars and stripes" to 
the top of his house, and for this, Zollicoffer had him ar- 
rested and sent south as a prisoner of war; and this is the 
protection treason accords to devotion to the government; 
and now his farm is fenceless; his stock all driven off or 
killed; and the family have sought elsewhere the protection 
which was their right here, and the house is now tenantless 
and in ruins. 



70 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

In sight of my open tent door four regiments are camped, 
and all is life and activity. We passed the big guns at the 
Ford on our way here, and they have just now reached the 
front, where they were greeted with a hurrah that echoed 
and re-echoed through the surrounding hills and forests. I 
suppose our march will be resumed to-morrow morning, 
but the approach will be slow as we have to construct the 
road as we go, and it must be a good one, and firm at 
that, as the siege guns are said to weigh thirty tons each. 

Has Kate reached home? If so she must write to me and 
send on the diary. I have been expecting it for some time. 
Give me all the local news of the county. To you it may 
seem trivial, but the most commonplace incidents often 
help to make up a correct judgment on current events. 

I take a plunge daily in the mountain streams. You 
know I am somewhat aquatic, and have always enjoyed a 
bath as a great luxury. 

Love to all, with many kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



Moss House, Knox County, Kentucky, \ 

May 28, 1862. J 

Dear Wife, — Yours of the 19th reached me night before 
last, and you may rest assured it was gladly received, as I 
had not heard from home for two weeks. 

We are on the ground we occupied when I last wrote to 
you. Troops and munitions of war are still accumulating 
at this point, and just so soon as sufficient supplies of sub- 
sistence are on hand, I presume we will go forward. Scout- 
ing parties are out continually, often going up within a mile 
of the stronghold, without any demonstration on the part 
of the rebels. They are believed to be short of ammu- 
nition, and therefore not disposed to waste powder and 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 71 

ball. We have captured a few of their scouts, but as yet 
have lost none. 

Three miles in advance is a picket station, on one of the 
highest peaks this side of the Gap. With a field-glass, on a 
clear day, the rebel works can be overlooked, and many 
officers have gone to the lookout station. I was bitten 
with the prevailing desire to see what was to be seen, and 
on Sunday evening last I paid my visit. It was a hot, 
misty day, and nothing to be seen to compensate for the 
fatigue and the labor expended in reaching the position. 
The rebel lines are very formidable, and if not flanked, and 
the rebels starved out, it will be bloody work to dislodge 
them. But I think the flanking movement is now on foot 
to effect the purpose. More than this I can't say at present. 

With all my good luck I have one instance of bad to 
communicate. Charley (my horse, not my servant) sick- 
ened two weeks since. At first I thought he was taking 
distemper, he coughed so much; but in a short time his 
brain became involved; and for a few days I feared he 
would go blind. He lost flesh more rapidly than I thought 
a horse could possibly do so. The result has been that I 
felt compelled three days since to buy another. We were 
in hourly expectation of marching orders, and in such an 
emergency I could not do without a horse. I got a very 
good mare for one hundred and twenty dollars, and think 
I have made a good purchase. Charley is improving, but 
he will not be fit for service for a month to come. His 
disease, I have no doubt, was occasioned by his exposure, 
without shelter, following the meager supplies for our stock 
since we left Lexington. Dry and damaged corn, morning, 
noon and night, for a month, with nothing else, is as bad 
for horses and mules as ' ' pea porridge hot, pea porridge 
cold, and pea porridge nine days old," is for the master 
biped. 



72 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Our own bill-of-fare is not any better than it should be. 
The basis of army subsistence is hard bread, side bacon, 
beans, sugar, coffee, and rice. We get fresh beef about one 
day in ten, but I think it causes increase of camp diseases, 
much of the trouble resulting from over-indulgence. Often 
half the articles enumerated above cannot be obtained of 
the commissary of subsistence. Such things as milk, butter, 
and eggs, are scarce, and when obtained, it is at such a 
price that one is satisfied with a single experiment. As an 
instance : I stepped into a road-side house a few days since 
and enquired for butter-milk. The "good wife" had a 
little, which she furnished in a tin bucket, I promising to 
return the vessel. I thought she supplied me with a gallon 
of milk, and having nothing less than a silver half dollar 
in my pocket, I handed it to her and told her to pay her- 
self out of it. She quietly slipped it into her pocket and 
said, "That is just the amount." The thing was so coolly 
done that I have enjoyed a hearty laugh many times since 
in thinking over it. If there is in all this country such a 
thing as a domestic fowl I know nothing of it. The shrill 
crowing of the cock would now be music to my ears. 

The paymaster will be along in a few days, and I will 
forward you all the funds I can spare, but not so much as 
I had hoped, in consequence of the purchase of my new 
horse. Just as soon as anything decisive occurs you shall 
hear from me. Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



Moss House, Knox County, Kentucky, ) 

June 2, 1862. j 
Dear Wife, — I thank you for yours of the 25th, with 
Kate's enclosed. It reached me in less time than any 
previous letter from Burlington. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 73 

Our camp was roused this morning at three o'clock, with 
the information that the pickets had been driven in, and 
that the enemy were advancing on us in force. Everything 
was soon in readiness to give them a warm reception, but 
after waiting until breakfast time without their putting in an 
appearance, the men were dismissed to their morning meal, 
and after that was dispatched, two companies of our regi- 
ment, " B " and " C," were detailed to visit the outer picket 
station and learn the cause of the alarm. On examination 
it turned out that one of the pickets had fired on what he 
thought a prowling straggler within our lines; this, and 
nothing more, was the cause of all the pother. 

The road at this point runs between two high hills, or 
ridges, and our camps are on the hill-sides; the valley be- 
low is used as a drill ground. When the alarm was given, 
the artillery was hurried to the front and placed in battery, 
and every arrangement made for battle. We have at this 
point five regiments; four are two miles in our rear, and 
three are up a creek leading to a gap, west of Cumberland 
Gap, two miles distant, but in advance of us, and two are 
held in reserve, making in all fourteen regiments. Our 
left is protected by high hills, or rather the ridge before 
mentioned, which is inaccessible for artillery. I regard 
our position as invulnerable to any force the rebels can 
bring from the Gap against us. Our present information is 
that they outnumber us, but we are vastly superior in heavy 
guns, and that arm of the service will have most of the 
work to do. 

The 22d keeps the cleanest bill of health of any regi- 
ment in the division, and I think when the tug of battle 
comes, it will be relied on as much as any of them. 

A telegram has just reached us saying that -McClellan 
has whipped Lee at Richmond. I hope it will not prove 
like so many others : bogus. If Richmond has fallen, and 



74 LETTERS FROM THE ARM}. 

Corinth been overthrown, or rather, shall be overthrown 
soon, the end will have been almost reached, and I think 
we may, ere long, hang up our "bruised arms" and pre- 
pare to "caper nimbly" in our "ladies' chambers." I 
mean those of us who have ladies and chambers, and the 
will to caper, and legs on which to caper, which are all of 
them important considerations and appendages for a fellow 
in a capering mood.* 

My horse still improves. Very many, attacked as he was, 
died. I had the opportunity to buy, and the probabilities 
were that we might any hour be ordered forward, and in 
such an emergency I would give ' ' my kingdom for a 
horse ; " however, had I known a week since that he would 
by this time have been in his present condition, I would 
not have bought another; but it is no part of my philoso- 
phy to grieve over things accomplished and not to be 
remedied. 

In a recent letter I requested fifty postage stamps. I 
have borrowed until my credit is almost bankrupt, and if 
you do not hasten them up, you will soon be deprived of 
the pleasure of reading my daily quantum of sense and 
nonsense, and that I know is so great, you will attend to 
the request in double quick time. 

Love to all, with kisses for the children. 
Yours truly, 



* It takes all sorts of people to make a world. Sitting in my tent 
to-day I was much amused in the play and gambols of forty or fifty 
of our men who were engaged in a " stag dance." As the fun was 
becoming "fast and furious," a mounted picket came in on the 
gallop and reported at Head Quarters, and a- minute later the long 
roll called all to arms. 

One of the revellers, whom I had been overlooking for half an 
hour — and whose gasconading had been somewhat effusive — came 
hobbling to my tent to be excused from duty. I asked him if he 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 75 

Moss House, Knox County, Kentucky, 1 

June 4, 1862. j 

Dear Wife, — I wrote to you two days since, but write 
again to-day because I think all the indications point to a 
forward march soon, and when we start, there can be no 
stop short of the Gap ; and when on the march or in the 
presence of the enemy, opportunities for writing will be 
limited. 

I failed in my last to acknowledge the package of papers 
you sent me. They came safe to hand. You said in your 
letter they contained evidence that one Kentuckian at least 
would speak his mind. Whilst reading your letter I thought 
you referred to my last article for the Gazette, but it is not 
in any of the numbers sent, nor anything that would at- 
tract my attention as particularly outspoken in character. 
If you have the paper with my article please send it to me. 

Since my last, the telegraph has been active. The bat- 
tles before Richmond and the evacuation of Corinth, are, 
I suppose, things of the past with you. Here the news has 
diffused general joy among all. 

I think I may safely say that every man here desires to 
do something to aid in the final and complete overthrow of 
rebellion. Not that any one wants to kill or slay, but hav- 
ing entered the service, they would much prefer to see the 
war sharp and short, than have it protracted. Blow on 
blow in quick succession, is mercy to the soldier. The 
listlessness of camp life kills more men than rebel bullets. 



had not been among the dancers. " Yes he had." "And what is 
the matter now ? " "A terrible pain had just struck him in the 
loins." I ordered him to report for instant duty, and expedited 
his leave-taking by hurling at his head the first round, sound and 
hearty volley of cuss words that I uttered whilst in the service. 

" Evil habits, like evil passions, 

Grow by that they feed on." 



76 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Invariably after camping five or ten days I find our sick 
list doubled, and just as soon as the order to strike tents for 
a forward march is issued, men rise from their bunks in 
hospital and insist on being discharged to duty, men who 
do not sham. On the contrary I have been disgusted re- 
cently with some of the phases of human character. To 
find just before an expected engagement or a march in- 
volving danger, robust, athletic men, hobbling round with 
terrible rheumatic or neuralgic pains, which had not been 
heard of before, is too bad. Such men are unfit food for 
powder. There is too much honor in dying in a good 
cause, and in defense of country and home, to have it be- 
fall such men. 

The Tennessee regiments are daily receiving accessions 
from the refugees from that state, driven out by rebel in- 
justice and violence. One of the regiments is commanded 
by a son of Governor Andrew Johnson, and a company in 
the same by a son of Brownlow. 

Love to all, with kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



Moss House, Knox County, Kentucky, 

June 6, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — Yours of the- 29th May has just reached 
me, and I devote a few minutes to you, and but a few. It 
is now nine and a half p. m. Our orders are " to be up at 
two and a half in the morning, and be ready for an onward 
march at four." Three days' rations are cooked and in 
haversack, and everything is packed and ready for the 
wagons, and with nothing to do in the morning but to boil 
our coffee, strike our tents, and be off. 

The programme of our campaign is now fully developed, 
and instead of a direct assault on the Gap, we commence a 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 77 

flank movement by Big Creek Gap, which takes us by Bos- 
ton, in Whitley county, and we will make our entrance in- 
to Powell's Valley, some thirty miles west of Cumberland 
Gap. 

During the past week large parties of soldiers — from 
two to three hundred per day — have been working the di- 
rect road to the Gap, and whilst the rebels are expecting 
and waiting for a direct assault, I trust we may make a safe 
lodgment on their flank in Powell's Valley. Our fatigue 
parties have gone in the discharge of their duties, within 
four miles of the Gap, but have not been molested. 

I have some prospects of selling Charley. He improves 
slowly, more in appearance than in vigor. I rode him to- 
day, but found it excited much panting, and I feel some 
reluctance to send him home by a stranger, fbr fear he 
would be rode hard and neglected on the road. I said to 
the man who proposed to buy, that he had been seriously 
ill, and that I would enter into no warranty. 

Before this reaches you I suppose Kate will be at home, 
and I hope soon to hear from her. Still let me hear from 
your father. 

Love to all, and many ' ' mouf kisses " (as pussy has it) 
to Cora. 

Yours truly, 



Claybourne County, Tennessee, June 10, 1862. 
Dear Wife, — I wrote you on the 6th, informing you of 
our intended advance into this state by way of Big Creek 
Gap. We commenced our march as arranged, but instead 
of Big Creek being our destination, we have pursued 
neighborhood roads and bridle paths up to this date, mak- 
ing much of the road as we progressed, which has retarded 
our advance. We are now some twenty miles west of 



78 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Cumberland Gap, and, with the main portion of the di- 
vision, are in two and a half miles of Wilson's or Rogers' 
Gap, a pass barely feasible for an army, with a wagon 
train and ordnance, to pass through. 

The Gap is in our possession, and it is now not possible for 
the rebels to prevent our entrance into Powell's Valley. 
We reached this point at ten this morning, and at twelve 
the long roll called to arms. The report was that the rebels 
had attacked our advance guard at the Gap. We were 
soon under way for that point, but after reaching the ridge, 
the brigade was halted, and a few of the staff officers rode 
forward to the picket station, where we learned that two at- 
tempts had been made to drive our troops from the Gap. 
The enemy were foiled, however, and driven back, with 
the loss of three horses captured and one man certainly 
wounded. 

Standing as I did, on the top of the mountain ridge over- 
looking Powell's Valley, I commanded in the field of my 
vision, a scope of twenty miles in extent, a land highly 
cultivated and inviting us to come in and possess it. There 
is but one obstacle now in the way. The road is such that 
wagons and cannon cannot pass over it until we make it 
anew. This, however, is only a work of time, and four 
thousand men on two and a half miles of road, who go to 
work with a will, make things wear a new aspect speedily. 
Our large guns will require block and tackle to carry them 
safely over the worst places. 

Of Cumberland Gap I can say nothing more than was 
said in former letters; but of the Gap now in our possession, 
I will say that fifty men, resolute and determined, could 
successfully hold it against a regiment attacking it from be^ 
yond; but assailed from this side it is quite vulnerable. It 
is of the Gap alone, I speak. The possession of it com- 
mands the ridge, and with the Gap in the enemy's hands 
we would have had a struggle for the ridge. 



LETTERS EROM THE ARMY. 79 

General Morgan's strategy has been quite adroit, and so 
befogged the rebels that we have quietly secured a position 
which will inevitably compel the abandonment of Cumber- 
land Gap. Powell's Valley is the granary from which the 
rebels have drawn all their supplies for their troops in this 
region, and it passes into our hands, with all its abundance 
of grain, and its vast majority of loyal citizens. 

Since leaving Moss House station we have heard nothing, 
and I know nothing that is going on with you outside bar- 
barians, and I suppose we will be kept in this same con- 
dition of blissful ignorance until we get into the region of 
Knoxville. This I will try to get through by private con- 
veyance to some portion of Kentucky where "Uncle Sam" 
carries a mail. 

I leave the balance of my sheet for a future occasion, 
and will now go to bed, and resume as time and events 
permit. 

Good night, and pleasant dreams attend you. 
Yours truly, 



Camp Rogers, Powell's Valley, Tennessee, \ 

June 11, 1862. J 

Dear Wife, — Well, here we are in the far-famed valley. 
It is truly a land of beautiful prospects and surpassing loveli- 
ness. Standing as I did yesterday, on one of the highest 
peaks of the Cumberland range, with my field-glass in 
hand, and overlooking the long stretch of valley spread out 
before me, with the fields of ripening grain swaying to the 
breeze, catching and reflecting the lights and shadows of 
the fleecy clouds, which only mellowed without marring 
the scenic effect, I must say man does not often see just 
such sights. 

I never saw so well illustrated as to-day the truth of the 
old adage, that "many hands make light work." At six 



80 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

in the morning our fatigue parties started to make a pass- 
able road over the mountain; and it is a real mountain, one 
not to be sneezed at : our boys say a full mile in perpen- 
dicular, but you must take their opinions with many grains 
of allowance. At noon the order came to strike tents, and 
now at eight and a half p. m., our cam on and wagon 
trains are rumbling down the mountain side into the valley, 
sending dismay and terror into the hearts of conspirators 
and traitors. You may rest assured we will hold the valley 
and that is equivalent to holding the Gap. We are some- 
thing over twenty miles west of the Gap, and I judge we 
will not advance on that point for a day or two, as we have 
everything to organize for decisive action. 

I am to-day fifty years old, and our occupation of Pow- 
ell's Valley on my fiftieth birthday, will make it with me 
the more memorable. 

You must pardon my chirography; I am penciling by the 
light of the moon, which has just "climbed the highest hill," 
overlooking the valley, and is now in cloudless majesty 
and full orbed beauty shedding her mild radiance over the 
active bustling scene around me. Good night. 

June 12, Morning. 

I took my first bivouac last night, with only my cork 
mattress under me and my blankets and the blue vault of 
heaven above. It was a grand and beautiful night, just 
warm enough to sleep comfortably in the open air. 

Just after reaching this position yesterday evening a man 
connected with one of the batteries went forward some 
three hundred yards to forage a little, and was captured by 
rebel pickets. They are scattered all over the valley and 
may cause us some trouble, as our cavalry is a full day's 
march in our rear. 

We had some picket firing during the night, but it is be- 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 81 

lieved to have proceeded from the nervous excitability of 
our own men, rather than any real danger of an attack. 
Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



Camp Rogers, Powell's Valley, Tennessee, ) 

June 13, 1862. j 

Dear Wife, — We are' still at this point. The history of 
our brigade for the last thirty-six hours, would give you in 
epitome the history of military affairs everywhere. I will 
sketch it briefly : Before half our wagon train had com- 
menced their descent to the valley, orders were given to 
arrest the remainder on the hill. The next morning it was 
announced that telegraphic dispatches from General Buell 
had been received, revealing the failure of General Mitch- 
ell's attack on Chattanooga, and that our position would 
be untenable, and instructing General Morgan to fall back 
to the first range of hills for security. The order was re- 
ceived with great dissatisfaction by the troops. They had 
for months been cooped up in a sterile mountainous region, 
and they were loth to leave a land of plenty for the hills 
again. But the order was given, and the train was all night 
long struggling up the steep mountain side, but when morn- 
ing came it brought, another message, saying that Mitchell 
had succeeded, and then the backward movement was ar- 
rested. 

We have this morning the gratifying intelligence that 
General Rains has abandoned the Gap. With the valley 
in our possession it is no longer tenable by him. Govern- 
ment ought now to take and hold it for the future. 

A skirmish is now going on, the long roll calls to arms, 

and I pause for the present Some of our boys 

were out foraging for the good things of the valley, and 
were chased in by rebel pickets. Many shots were ex- 



82 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

changed, at long range, however, with no loss on our side, 
and, so far as I could learn, none on the other, except one 
horse killed and his trappings captured. You may think it 
strange for men to risk capture or loss of life for a meal of 
victuals, but the orders and counter-orders have so disor- 
ganized our provision trains, that we are reduced to less 
than half rations, and many of the men have had nothing 
but corn meal for two days, and in limited quantity at 
that. 

I don't know whether the rebels will contest the posses- 
sion of the valley with us or not, but you may be assured 
we are now among a thoroughly loyal people, who are 
ready to give notice of any movement of the enemy, so 
that we may be prepared for any emergency. 

Saturday Morning, 14th. 

I continue my jottings down, but don't know when I can 
send anything to you, as we are out of the region of mail 
facilities. How it is in other portions of the country under 
rebel sway I can't say; but the rebel authorities have man- 
aged to keep the loyal people of this section in total ignor- 
ance of important events of the war, disastrous to their 
cause ; but have magnified their victories most wonderfully. 
For instance, it is believed here that Beauregard inflicted a 
severe blow on Halleck at Corinth, and the capture of New 
Orleans was unknown until our advent. We are now fairly 
committed to the defense of the valley, as our trains are 
again rumbling down the hill. 

Within the last forty-eight hours we have performed a 
somewhat famous historic feat. We have "marched up the 
hill and then marched down again." I don't know if we 
ought not to ,be twice as famous as the original performers 
of that brilliant strategy, as we have done the thing twice 
over. My modicum of the fame will not, I suppose, send 
your name down to the future as one of the famous women 
of America. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 83 

I have just taken my breakfast, and such a breakfast for 
Powell's Valley. My worst enemy in Boone might now 
safely stroke my beard. Would you like to have my bill- 
of-fare? Coffee without sugar, and army bread: "only 
this and nothing more." I ate of it hugely and now feel 
very comfortable. How do you feel yourself? 

The last letters received from you bore dates 11th and 
25th of May. I suppose there are some in the mail be- 
tween those dates. Calvert's letter, which you mentioned, 
has not yet reached me. I hope in the good time coming 
they will all turn up right. 

Sunday Morning, 15th. 

We are still at Camp Rogers, and will, I suppose, remain 
until to : morrow morning, when all the regiments will be re- 
united for a combined march on either the Gap or Knox- 
ville. Our information is that the rebels have abandoned 
the post, and have taken off their heavy guns, leaving only 
a corporal's squad behind. It may be only a ruse to invite 
an attack. I think, however, it is an abandonment, as the 
position cannot be maintained whilst we hold the valley. 

I hear nothing of the postage stamps I ordered, nor do 
I know when a mail will reach me from your side of the 
line. This will be taken to Lexington by private convey- 
ance, and there mailed. Give me all the local news of the 
county you can. 

Remember me kindly to enquiring friends. Kiss the 
children for me, and accept the assurance of my lasting 
affection. 

Yours truly, 



Camp Rogers, Powell's Valley, Tennessee, ") 

June 16, 1862. j 
Dear Wife, — We start a mail to-day from this point, 
and I have time before it takes the back track, for another 
last line. 



84 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Our encampment was kept on the qui vive all last night, 
in expectation of an attack by the rebels, but the only re- 
sult was the disturbance of the sleep of the men, to their 
great disgust. 

In a former letter I said we would enter the valley by 
the Big Creek Gap. In that I was partially wrong. Gen- 
erals Spear's and Carter's brigade did enter by that gap, 
and they are now on their march to join us at this place. I 
also said Cumberland Gap had been abandoned by the 
rebels ; that information, we now hear, is not entirely re- 
liable. Six regiments, near half their force, left some days 
since for Knoxville, and a portion of those left behind are 
reported to be entrenching a strong position, midway be- 
tween this and the Gap, which looks like an intention to 
contest the mastership of the valley; you will soon hear 
through the papers with what success. There are so many 
slips between cup and lip, that I will not speculate. I 
have my opinions, and they are of the most hopeful char- 
acter. 

I wish you could see the scenery just round us. We are 
in a little cove immediately at the base of the mountain 
over which we passed, and from under a bold, rugged, 
beetling cliff, two thousand feet high, a magnificent foun- 
tain boils and bubbles, with pure transparent waters, and 
in such quantity, that in one hundred yards below its 
source it supplies power sufficient to drive a large grist mill 
and a carding machine, yet not half its power is uti- 
lized. 

Since we sat down in the valley the weather has been 
quite warm and dry, the troops all sleeping under hastily 
constructed arbors, which protect only from the noonday 
heat and the dews of night. Whilst on the highlands the 
nights were quite cool, and the grass and weeds were found 
in the mornings dripping with moisture ; and it required all 
our blankets to sleep warm. Here my canopy is the blue 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 85 

vault of heaven, with nothing to obstruct the magnificent 
view everywhere visible, and I have never had quieter or 
sweeter sleep. I can throw myself on the ground and go 
into the most profound sleep in a minute's time. I can well 
realize the benediction of Sancho Panza : ''Blessed be the 
man who first invented sleep : it covers one all over like a 
garment." I sleep soundly, eat heartily, when I get enough 
to eat, and don't mean ever to ask Jefferson Davis or any 
of his confederates to be my President. 

I still have Charley on hand. My applicant to purchase 
wanted him on time, and I did not choose to part with him 
that way to an entire stranger. 

Love to all, with kisses to the children, and regards to 
enquiring friends. 

Yours truly, 



Cumberland Gap, June 19, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — Our entire division, fourteen regiments of 
infantry, and two batteries of artillery, reached this place 
last night, after a hard day's march — for an army — of 
twenty miles. After our occupation of the valley in force, 
the rebels commenced at once to abandon the post. If we 
could have advanced four days earlier we would inevitably 
have compelled the surrender of four or five thousand men 
without battle, as they could not have subsisted long, cut 
off from their source of supply. But as it is, we have 
achieved important results, without the loss of a man slain 
in battle, or a drop of blood spilled. 

The abandonment by the rebels and the occupation by 
union troops, will have a most important influence on the 
future conduct of the war, as it gives free access to the loyal 
portion of Tennessee, and it can be made the base for 
future operations in the further south. 

The quality and character of the soil of the valley seems 



86 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

to change with every alternate mile, but take it all in all it 
is a most important, desirable, and fertile portion of our 
common country. 

The view from the top-most peak above the Gap is mag- 
nificent. Standing as I did at one point, with field-glass 
in hand, one can see far into the winding valleys of three 
states. The distant mountain ranges veiled in mist; the 
nearer hills and the valleys immediately below, bathed as 
they were, in a* flood of sunlight ; with the sylvan-fringed 
streams coiling serpent-like round the cleared fields; all 
made a picture lovely to look at, and which needed but to 
be seen to have it photographed on the memory at once 
and forever. The Virginia portion of the valley is the most 
highly cultivated. 

It sickens one to the heart to witness the waste of war. 
The rebels left standing from four to five hundred tents, 
but of the number, all but four or five were slit into rib- 
bons. Flour, meal, rice, and beans, were strewn all over 
the surface of the fortifications and hill-sides. Five of 
the largest guns they spiked, and cut their carriages down, 
and the longest and largest one of all they tumbled from a 
cliff hundreds of feet in height, without, however, much 
damage done to it. Tons of shot and shell were thrown 
over the cliffs into the ravines below, that it might occasion 
the greatest labor to collect again the scattered mass.* 

You may ask how I can so soon after our arrival give 
you all these details. Well, Sumner and myself, with the 
consent of Col. Lindsey, constituted ourselves the advanced 
corps of our regiment yesterday afternoon, and, in com- 
pany with ten or a dozen officers rode a couple of hours 
in advance of the column, and we passed over the entire 
grounds of the intrenchments and fortifications. 

I have just reason to complain of Sumner on one point. 
After I had led our advanced guard until near the summit 
of the highest peak, he suddenly put spur to his horse and 






LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 87 

f»- 
reached the pinnacle before me, only that he might exult 

over me. Was it not base ? and the baseness was aggra- 
vated by the fact that it was my spur, a borrowed spur, 
that roused his dull Rozinante into action. I will hack it 
from his heel for the unknightly deed. 
Love to all, with kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



*On the evening of the 22d, on my way back to camp, I was met 
by a countryman in search of a surgeon. He had taken home 
with him the day before from the Gap a small shell with the fuse 
in it, and permitted his children to light the fuse. It exploded, 
killing one instantly, and fatally wounding another. 

Pogue's Post Office, Knox County, Kentucky, ") 

June 21, 1862. j 

Dear Wife, — I am here, twenty miles north of the Gap, 
for a double purpose. First, to look after some of the sick 
of the regiment, left in this neighborhood when we com- 
menced our flank movement; and second, to hunt up stray 
and lost letters. Numbers of my sick I met on my way 
here yesterday afternoon. The news of the evacuation 
acted like the charge of a galvanic battery, and restored to 
active life men who were really sick, and others who were 
only sick of the dangers incident to battle. 

In my second object I am disappointed, as all the mail 
here was ordered back at the time we were made to take 
the back track from Powell's Valley. But for that strange 
and extraordinary move we would have bagged a few 
thousand rebels, but in doing so we would probably have 
lost some men slain in battle, and so, all things considered, 
it may be best as it is, 

There is great exultation throughout this region over the 
result at the Gap. The Home- Guard of this county, to the 
number of three hundred and fifty, shouldered their rifles 



88 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

and marched, some twenty, some thirty, and some forty 
miles, in anticipation of a conflict, on the 17th, and were 
ambushed all round the Kentucky side of the Gap, They 
subsisted themselves, and would have been of great service 
to us if the rebels had not skedaddled. 

On the other page I give you a copy of a will made by 
a rebel surgeon and found by Sumner in one of the aban- 
doned tents of the enemy on the evening of the 18th. It 
is done up in lawyer-like language, and is most artistically 
executed; the fact of our short supplies gives point to its 
wit. 

Love to all, with kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



For a Yankee Surgeon. 

my LAST 
WILL AND TESTAMENT. 

Whereas, in the fortunes of war it may soon be necessary for 
me to bid adieu to the climate, scenery, and crystal fountains, 
of Cumberland Gap : Therefore, to the first Yankee Surgeon 
who plants his foot on the threshold of my deserted quarters I 
will, devise and bequeath : 

Item 1st. All my interests and rights to said premises, to. 
gether with all and singular the tenements, hereditaments, and 
appurtenances, thereunto belonging. 

Item lid. I furthermore desire and direct that the said 
Yankee Surgeon shall have free and unmolested control and 
use of all the old clothes, bottles, blankets, and medicines, left 
on the aforesaid premises. 

Item Hid. Knowing that the above mentioned Yankee 
Surgeon has for some time past subsisted on half rations, badly 
prepared, I further desire and direct that he may have unre- 
strained control and be sole proprietor of a small cooking stove 
a few paces hence on the hill side, where the testator has often 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 89 

eaten and enjoyed well cooked biscuit, beef, bacon, mutton, 
tarts, &c, regretting, however, that the usages of war will not 
permit me to leave him a supply of these articles. 

Item IVth. I hereby revoke all previous testaments. In 
witness whereof, I hereunto set my hand and affix my seal. 
W. J. Carmichael. R. B. GARDNER, 

Henry J. Burton. Asst. Surgeon 3d Georgia Battalion. 



Washington, June 22, 1862. 
Brigadier-General Geo. W. Morgan: This Depart- 
ment has been highly gratified with your successful occu- 
pation of Cumberland Gap, and commend the gallant 
conduct of your officers and troops, to whom you will 
express the thanks of the President and the Department. 
With thanks for your diligence and activity, I remain, 
Yours truly, 

E. M. STANTON, 

Secretary of War. 

The above was in due time followed by the accompany- 
ing order from Major-General Buell, commanding the 
Army of the Ohio. 

Headquarters Army of the Ohio, ) 

Huntsville, Ala., July 11, 1862. } 
General Order No. 29. 

The General commanding the Army of the Ohio takes 
pleasure in announcing the success of an arduous and 
hazardous campaign by the Seventh Division, Brigadier- 
General Geo. W. Morgan commanding, by which the ene- 
my's fortified position at Cumberland Gap was turned, and 
his forces compelled to retreat, as our troops advanced to 
attack. The General commanding thanks General Mor- 
gan and the troops of the Seventh Division for the ability 
displayed in the operations against this important strong- 



90 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

hold, and for the energy, fortitude, and cheerfulness which 
they exhibited in their struggle with difficulties of the most 
formidable magnitude for an army. 
By command of Major-General Buell, 

JAS. B. FRY, 
Colonel and Chief of Staff. 



Cumberland Gap, June 27, 1862. 

Deai- Wife, — "It never rains but it pours." I received 
by last night's mail three letters from you bearing dates 
respectively, June 2d, 7th, and 15th. Two from Kate, 
June 17th and 19th. One from Delia, June 8th; one from 
J. W. Calvert, June 11th; and one from J. O. Hudnut, 
May 26th ; so you see I had for a few hours quite reading 
matter enough. It will take some time for me to write up 
all my correspondence, but I write first of all to you be- 
cause yours is the prior claim. 

I don't know why you should fear having said anything 
to hurt my feelings. You certainly have not, nor am I 
conscious of the use of any language to justify you in sup- 
posing me hurt. I am, however, often brusque in my 
expressions, and may, unintentionally, have made the im- 
pression. I know I have been clamorous for some time for 
stamps, which are almost as great a want in camp as bread 
and meat. 

We have been camped here for nine days, and they have 
been days of irksome monotony. I have gone over and over 
again, all the rebel works, and you will see in the Gazette 
my first impression of the strength of the position. The 
opinions there expressed have been modified by subsequent 
reflection and information from others, better qualified to 
judge in such matters than I am. It is, nevertheless, a 
very strong position, and would have occasioned much loss 
of blood to have taken it by assault. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 91 

I have been making some efforts to procure a leave of 
absence, but last night I put my foot in it so thoroughly 
and was so effectually snubbed by our. brigade commander, 
that I feel a little ticklish about renewing the attempt. I 
think, however, I will try again. You must not be sur- 
prised at any result; either seeing me, or not seeing me, as 
the fortunes of war are proverbially fickle. 

I know not why your father should desire me not to be 
at home during the election, because, if I may not be there 
then and exercise my right of suffrage, I may not at any 
future time; and that is a question to be met at once. I 
see, however, no present prospect of my reaching Burling- 
ton by the first of August. 

I understand General Morgan is directed to remain here 
until ordered hence, as the position is regarded as the key 
to East Tennessee. It was on that issue I spoke in refer- 
ence to a leave of absence. 

Since lying here our sick list has swelled to larger dimen- 
sions than at any time since we left Piketon. The preva- 
lent diseases are dysentery and diarrhoea, caused, I think, 
by our hard march the day we reached here, and the hot 
days and cool nights following. 

To-day all the regiments of our brigade have gone to the 
Kentucky side of the Gap to seek more salubrious situ- 
ations than they had in the valley on this side, and to save 
the hauling of so much subsistence across the mountain, as 
we still draw all our supplies from Lexington, Kentucky. 
It has been raining all day, and I decided not to remove 
my hospital tent until a more propitious day, unless peremp- 
torily ordered to do so. 

A square shaft of sand-stone, some two and a half feet 
in diameter, and five feet high, stands immediately beside 
the road-way in the Gap. It marks the spot where the 
states of Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee join. It has 
on two of its faces the names o^ Beriah Magoffin and 



92 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Isham G. Harris, as governors of their respective states, 
and their agents when it was erected. I noticed that both 
names have been almost obliterated by indignant soldiers.* 
Vain effort to deprive these men of their just renown ! The 
archives of the nation, more imperishable than marble or 
bronze, will transmit their names to the future, and coming 
generations will enroll them beside that ancient worthy — 
their fitting prototype and progenitor — who sought renown 
by firing a temple dedicated to the worship of the gods.f 
Love to all, with kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



* The mutilation was done by rebel soldiers. I was the first 
man to enter after the rebels had abandoned the post ; and I found 
the record marred. 

t When President Lincoln called on these high and mighty func- 
tionaries for the ratable quota from their States, Governor Harris 
said : 

"Tennessee will not furnish a single man for coercion, but fifty 
thousand, if necessary, for the defense of our rights and those of 
our brethren." 

And Governor Magoffin addressing the Secretary of War said : 
i 

Frankfort, April 16, 1861. 

" Hon. Simon Cameron, Secretary of War : Your dispatch is re- 
ceived. In answer, I say emphatically that Kentucky will furnish 
no troops for the wicked purpose of subduing our sister Southern 
States. " " B. MAGOFFIN, 

" Governor of Kentucky." 

Governor Magoffin was a little bit out in his calculation. Ken- 
tucky sent into the field more than seventy-five thousand troops for 
the "wicked purpose ot subduing our Southern Sisters," and to 
maintain the national integrity. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 93 

Cumberland Gap, June 28, 1862. 

Dear J. — Your favor of the 8th reached me day before 
yesterday, in company with much mail matter. I was 
greatly pleased to receive it, as an entire month had elapsed 
since any news reached me from home. I suppose you have 
had the same interference with the mails that we have en- 
countered here. I have written so frequently and so much 
of late about the Gap that I have very little that is new to say, 
and I don't like to stereotype myself. There is one new 
feature here that I have not mentioned in any previous 
letter. It is a great cave that extends under the mountain 
ridge, and which has been explored for miles by curious 
soldiers. Some most beautiful specimens of stalagmites 
and stalactites have been exhibited, and I made an invest- 
ment in one stalactite. It was an impulsive affair. Meet- 
ing a man with the finest specimen that I ever saw, I offered 
him all the silver I had in pocket for it. Now don't charge 
me with prodigality: it only cost me twenty-five cents; 
but I soon found I had bought an elephant. I offered a 
dollar to have it transported to Lexington, with the hope of 
getting it home from there, but alas, without success. 
This, like some other of my investments, has turned out to 
be a losing bargain. When we changed camp to this side 
of the mountain I left it in the cabin I occupied on the 
other, and returning this morning for it, I found some 
vandal had shattered it, and thus perished all my hopes. 

Those who have gone into the cave report it as worth see- 
ing. I have not, however, observed that any of them are 
disposed to repeat their visits; and I have further noticed 
that they returned fatigued and very muddy. I am willing 
to take their words for what they see. Capt. Lyon of the 
Topographical Engineer Corps has promised me a sketch 
of the Gap which I will send home as soon as I get it. I 
can't write more just now, but may in the near future. 

Love to all. Yours truly, 



94 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Cumberland Gap, June 29, 1862. 

Dear Daughter, — I received by Thursday's mail two 
letters from you, for which I thank you much. I was glad 
to hear of your return home, and that you had passed a 
pleasant time with your uncle's family, but, at the same 
time sorry to learn their extreme devotion to the fortunes 
of the rebellion. 

I have written so often of late that I have but little that is 
new or interesting to communicate. Our present camping- 
ground is one and a half miles north of the Gap proper, 
and in Knox County, Kentucky. When we pitched tents 
here I thought it a most unpropitious situation for a camp, 
but two days have wrought a wonderful change. We are 
in the valley of Yellow Creek on a narrow bottom, which 
for half a mile looks to be entirely level, and when 
selected it was densely covered with an undergrowth of 
small pines, blackberry and bramble, and the ground 
seemed to me to be altogether too wet for health. But all 
hands were set to work cleaning and burning and now we 
have the prettiest camp I have seen since entering the 
service, and just as soon as the sun was let in it dried and 
warmed up the sandy soil. 

A little good taste in the clearing up has added much, 
not alone to the comfort, but also to the cheerfulness of the 
men. I wish you could see the position as it is just now. 
With here and there a stately chestnut tree left for shade, 
and clumps of small pine and persimmon, interspersed for 
variety. The 42d Ohio is just above, and the 16th Ohio just 
below us, with the creek meandering between the camps. 

I thought the apparent color of the water of Yellow Creek 
was attributable to the sand over which it flows, but Capt. 
Sydney Lyon, formerly assistant geologist of the state, tells 
me it is due to the large quantities of the salts of iron and 
alum it holds in solution. In shallow portions of the stream 
the yellow tinge is very visible, but in the deep pools it 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 95 

looks almost black. What effect the use of such water will 
have on the health of the men time only can determine. 

In the valley beyond the Gap we had a larger sick list 
than at any point since leaving Piketon, which I consider 
due to the marshy ground we occupied, with not a tree or a 
shrub to mitigate the fervid, burning heat of an unusually 
hot June. There was another cause which I think aided 
much in occasioning sickness. The day of our advance 
on the Gap was a hot one, and our march of twenty miles 
exhausted the soldiers, with the heavy burthens they are 
compelled to carry. We reached our position in good time, 
but the wagon train, with the tents and cooking utensils 
failed to come up that night, and many men after a day of 
great fatigue went supperless to bed, and their bed was the 
ground with but a single blanket as bed and covering. A 
thunder storm came up at ten and lasted long enough to 
drench all who were exposed to it. Being in advance I 
had the pick of the cabins for my sick, and so had com- 
fortable quarters for them and myself. My roughing it 
through Boone, for the last twenty years, fitted me for 
camp life better than most men who have entered the 
service. 

We have just commenced to luxuriate on the blackberry 
and the whortleberry, which are now ripening. I have had 
two dishes of the former fruit, but as yet have never tasted 
the ripe fruit of the latter. Whilst we were making our way 
over the mountains, I found the surface of the country 
covered with the whortleberry bush'; and I plucked one of 
them up and counted the berries on it. The bush was but 
little over a foot in height, with a half dozen branches, yet 
I found on it two hundred and seven berries. 

Edward Parrish called to day and dined with me; he is 
in robust health, and in a position for advancement. He 
ranks well with all who know him for his sterling worth. 

I was much pleased with your last letter ; what you said 



96 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

was well said, and it only requires practice to have you make 
a good epistolary writer. I hope, however, you will pay 
more attention to your penmanship : every letter in every 
word ought to be so distinctly formed that it could be made 
out without its connection. If you have ever entertained 
the idea that a letter, to be interesting, must be illegible, I 
beg you to dismiss it at once. 

I have been trying to while away an hour in a letter that 
per possibility might interest you, but I give it up for want 
of material to work on. I am not of the tribe of men who 
find ' ' books in the running brooks, sermons in stones and 
good in everything," so take this just as you find it. 

Since yesterday morning I have been coughing some, 
but just now I feel entirely relieved. Love to all, with 
kisses to the children and regards to enquiring friends, 
good night. 

Yours truly, 



Cumberland Gap, July 4, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — Your last of June 23 was received two days 
since. I had just mailed a letter to Kate, and so did not 
respond at once. 

The morning here opened bland and balmy, and at sun- 
rise the hills and valleys reverberated to the roar of a na- 
tional salute from a battery of "Uncle Sam's" pocket pieces. 
Now at ten, the day waxes warm, and most of the men are 
enjoying the national holiday by seeking the shade, and 
reclining at ease on the grass. We have no general cele- 
bration, other than the salute, and my only share in the 
festivities of the day will consist in partaking of a dinner 
with Dr. and Mrs.Brashears. He is Senior Surgeon of the 
brigade and consequently my superior. Dr. Manfred accom- 
panies me ; and we have the promise of blackberry and 
whortleberry pie, which is, of course, a temptation to my 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 97 

epicurean palate. I have to say for the whortleberry, that 
it is fine fruit, and is found here in great abundance. 

I mentioned in a recent letter that I was making some 
effort for a leave of absence but had been snubbed rather 
rudely. Our brigade, the 26th, is commanded by John F. 
DeCourcey, Colonel of the 16th Ohio. He is English, and 
an old army officer, and he entered the service herewith the 
stilted notions of an English aristocrat. On the day before 
receiving your last I asked, verbally, for a two weeks' leave 
of absence, and met a decided but courteous refusal. 
After receiving your last with the gloomy account of your 
father's health, together with the intelligence of the Latimer 
mortgages, I mentioned the subject to Col. Lindsey, who 
advised me to go direct to General Morgan and explain 
the emergencies of my case to him. I did so, but met at 
his quarters with DeCourcey and at once, without any 
diplomacy, mentioned my business. DeCourcey flared up 
at once, and took my application to Morgan as an appeal 
from him to higher authority, and turned on me with fierce 
and indignant wrath. In an excited manner he charged 
me with violating military rule and etiquette, and said he 
would not hear my application. I heard him through qui- 
etly, and then said to him that I intended no disrespect to 
him nor any infringement on his rights, but that since my 
previous interview with him new grounds had arisen which 
impelled me to renew the application, and that I must 
insist on my right to explain them, which he granted, but 
held me to the official method with the pen. We parted, 
each feeling himself improperly treated, and so begins my 
first official wrangle. 

I have made my official application with all the formal- 
ities of the " Blue Book," but expect it returned to me "not 
granted." * * * 

I stop here to prepare for dinner * * * Fifteen minutes 
since Manfred said it was time to get ready for dinner. I 



98 LETTERS FROM THE ARM}. 

at once doffed my worst and donned my best clothes, put 
on a white collar, the first for two months, and was in readi- 
ness to go when, lo, and behold ! in looking up my chum, I 
found him only beginning to get ready. He too is English, 
prim, precise, fastidious, and fixy, as an old maid; he is also 
as ugly, angular, and awkward, as the worst of the tribe, but 
as agreeable in conversation as the very best of them. If 
that sentence only amuses you, it will have answered all it 
were intended for, except to while away the time he detains 
me, but if he detains me long enough to spoil the pie I will 
abuse him worse than DeCourcey did me. 

* * * Four P. M. 
The dinner has been eaten and enjoyed, but instead of 
blackberry and whortleberry pies, we had green apple pies 
and potted peaches But I am giving the last course before 
the first. Well then, let me begin at the beginning and reg- 
ularly mention all in due order. 

1. Ham with potatoes, apple sauce, stewed prunes, 
biscuit, light bread, chocolate, tea. 

2. Potatoes, bread and butter, apple sauce, ham. 

3. Apple sauce, potatoes, stewed prunes, bread and 
butter, with the privilege of trying one's teeth on a vener- 
able army cracker, hard enough to strike fire, like flint, if 
not cautiously attacked 

4. Apple pie, and potted peaches. 

5 Catawba wine, Longworth's best brand. We remem- 
bered " Our absent friends," and I hope you did so, too, at 
the same time. 

But alas, alas ! all our merely sentimental enjoyments 
were marred by the telegraphic news of the disaster to 
McClellan before Richmond. I hope the developments of 
the future will show a better condition of affairs than the 
telegrams, received here to this time would indicate. A 
great and serious disaster there will prolong the struggle 



, -LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 99 

for years, and I had as well say at once I will never aban- 
don a doubtful cause. If the Richmond situation justified 
it, I would have no scruples in tendering a resignation, 
but just now I can't think of such a thing. 

Sumner will go to Lexington, Louisville, Covington, 
Ashland, all the sections of the state represented by our 
regiment, with funds for the families of the soldiers. I will 
send by him funds to deposit in Covington to your credit. 
Should he visit you as I have requested him to do, give him 
your best entertainment as he likes immensely well a good 
breakfast, a good dinner, a good supper, and all the good 
things of life to boot. 

We understand that government will soon have a compe- 
tent Engineer here and will commence the erection of a 
permanent works, as this is too important a point to leave 
in danger of falling again into rebel hands. 

I hope you will not let our national difficulties distress 
you much. The end will come, and such an end as loyal 
right-minded citizens desire. It may be in the overthrow 
of slavery, and if so, the rebels will have only themselves 
to thank for that result. Love to all. 
Yours truly, 



Cumberland Gap, July 7, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — Mr. Sumner starts for the interior and the 
northern border of the state to-morrow. I send by him two 
hundred and twenty dollars, all I can at present spare, 
with instructions to deposit in bank at Lexington, and 
direct the amount to be transferred to the Covington branch 
of the Northern Bank of Kentucky, subject to your order. 

I have abandoned all hope of a leave of absence. Gen. 
Morgan forwarded the application with the endorsement. 
" Forwarded, but disapproved." This I learned from a 



ioo LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Lieutenant of our regiment, one of the General's staff. I 
have no right to complain, as we are all stretched on a 
Procrustean bed, and the same inflexible rule is applied to 
all but Chaplains, who, our Quartermaster says, are ' ' worth 
nothing," and are therefore permitted to come and go with- 
out let or hindrance. I have also abandoned all hope of 
the war ending this year, and think I will not be permitted 
to see you until we go into winter quarters. 

The days are warm but the nights are cool, and it requires 
all my blankets, to sleep warm, which is to me an impor- 
tant consideration. 

I believed I acknowledged the stamps. I want more, 
but don't send so many in one letter, as it might miscarry. 
Send say a dozen in each letter, and from this time number 
your letters, and then I will know if any are lost in the 
mail. 

I hope before this reaches you, Cora will be entirely 
relieved, but I fear the little minx will have wholly forgotten 
me before she sees me again. 

Love to all, with kind regards to enquiring friends. 
Yours truly, 



Cumberland Gap, July 10, 1862. 

Deai' Daughter, — Since receiving two letters from you 
I have written once in answer, and have been expecting to 
hear from you again. You must not expect a regular ex- 
change of letters with me. You have much more leisure than 
I have, and can afford to write oftener, and in addition my 
list of correspondents is much larger than yours. 

What am I to say to you ? I am sure I don't know. 
There is nothing occurring here to interest a lady. We 
are lying in camp and doing nothing but getting sick. 
I send you a copy of my quarterly report, or rather that 
portion of it which did not give me one-fourth the trouble the 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 101 

statistical portion of it did. That is one of the most complex 
and difficult reports a surgeon has to make out. The morn- 
ing report will show you how many men are on sick list 
to-day in the regiment; you will thus have some idea of my 
daily work. Don't understand that I do all. No, no. Dr. 
Manfred cheerfully bears his part of all our duties. You 
may think our sick list heavy, but compared with other 
regiments in the service here, it is remarkably light. Just 
now we have more men sick than at any time since we 
left Piketon, and there I had all to attend. 

I would not have you think I copied my quarterly report 
merely to send it to you. I did no such thing. Inadver- 
tently, I wrote on both sides of my sheet which the regu- 
lations forbid, and I had only to send it to you, or make 
waste paper of it, and now I can scarce say which would 
be the most judicious use of it. If it serve no other pur- 
pose, it will create the expectation of a long letter, and you 
know the pleasures of expectation are often greater than 
those of realization. 

I said in a recent letter that we were all stretched on a 
Procrustean bed and all fared alike, I take it back. There 
is a method of whipping the devil round the stump, even 
in the army, as I have found out within the last three days. 

When my application for leave of absence was before 
the authorities, I was confronted with a certain order from 
General Buell forbidding the granting of furloughs, except 
for such a degree of illness as would unfit a man for duty. 
Private losses or private griefs, if indeed any body has a 
right to a private grief in these times, have no influence 
with our immaculate public men. 

Our Lieutenant-Colonel failed, when in Lexington, to 
attend to one of his duties, as ordnance officer of the regi- 
ment, and he was like to encounter a loss of five or six hun_ 
dred dollars in consequence thereof, as government holds offi- 
cers to strict accountability for public property in their 



102 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

charge. But he evades the responsibility by getting himself 
appointed to the duty of visiting Lexington on regimental 
business, and thereby secures, not only his expenses to 
and fro, but also ten cents per mile for the distance trav- 
eled. I affirm all the regimental business is to save himself 
from loss where he had failed to attend to his duty when 
there. Don't understand me as censuring him. Officers 
from civil life have much to learn about army regulations. 
He has only done what almost every body does who serves 
the public ; and he is doing so patriotically and honorably, 
and I suppose he feels that should not prevent his serving 
himself at the same time. 

The boys are enjoying the whortleberry and blackberry 
season, but, like everything else along the line of the army, 
they cost money, ten cents a quart being the lowest rate 
demanded for either. Butter sells at fifty cents per pound ; 
chickens forty cents each; indifferent mutton one dollar 
per quarter, and luxuries or delicacies just what sutlers 
choose to demand. 

I have not received a letter from home from any of you 
for a full week, and I am getting wolfish, bearish, waspish, 
all the " ishes " you can imagine. Our mails are in a condi- 
tion of miserable disorder^ whilst bushels of mail matter 
reach here daily, nothing has come for the 22d within 
the last four days. 

Is Matty with you ? It would give me great pleasure 
to see her, but I have abandoned all hope of getting home. 
Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



Cumberland Gap, July 20, 1862. 
Dear Wife, — Your letter of the 4th is the last I have re- 
ceived from home. I have waited, and waited patiently, but 
they do not come. Kate seems to have forgotten me ; how- 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 103 

ever, I desire to do no one injustice ; the fault is with the 
mails and the evil times, and not with any of you at home. 
The great difficulty, I judge to be the raid of Morgan and his 
marauders ; it will wake Kentucky up with a start. Noth- 
ing in my judgment could have been more ill-timed on 
the part of the disorganizers than this last foray, just on the 
eve of an election, and at a time when a call is out for 
fresh troops to defend the country from wanton wrong. I 
trust that the state will now buckle on ail her armor and 
aid efficiently in crushing out rebellion. The day for rose- 
water leniency has gone by. If Morgan and his band are 
not met and expelled from the state, or, " with bloody hands 
welcomed to hospitable graves," then Government in this 
country is a farce and a mockery, and we are on the verge 
of anarchy. 

Our forces at this point are engaged in strengthening 
the rebel works, each company working one day in ten 
with pick and spade; the other days are taken up with 
company and battalion drill ; four hours of each day being 
devoted to that purpose. I think the 22d ranks well with 
the authorities here for its drill, its subordination, and every 
element that makes the soldier. 

I explained my failure to obtain a leave of absence, and 
now I have only to propose that as " the mountain can't go 
to Mahomet, that Mahomet come to the mountain." What 
say you to the proposition? Can you afford the expense? If 
not I cant say when we may meet, as furloughs are not 
granted, and there is not the remotest probability of my 
being ordered to your neighborhood. Nor will I ever make 
application for leave of absence otherwise than in a fair, 
open and legitimate manner. Whilst feeling it to be the 
duty of every man, the head of a family, to be near them, 
in such times as the present, I have to say that I think I am 
doing here more to protect you than I could do at home. 

I witnessed yesterday a thing which gave me great 



104 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

pain. I was out three miles from camp taking my usual 
afternoon ride, and met a Lieutenant of the 7th Kentucky 
in command of a file of soldiers, with a surgeon under arrest 
and hand-cuffed. He is surgeon to one of the Indiana regi- 
ments, and had applied for a furlough which was refused 
him, when he started home without leave. He was arrested 
at Barboursville, and gave his parole of honor to report to 
his regiment, and then violated it by attempting still 
to get home. He was arrested a second time at London, 
a telegram traveling faster than his horse. He will now 
be disgracefully dismissed from the service. He has a 
bright, beautiful boy of ten or twelve, with him, who seemed 
to feel the father's situation more acutely than he did 
himself. 

I want you to keep on writing ; some of your letters will 
get through after a while. I have not been in better health 
for years. There is just enough of the ragamuffin about 
me for the rough and tumble life I now live to agree with 
me. Love to all, with kisses to the children. 

Yours truly, 



Cumberland Gap, July 28, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — I am still without a word from home, the 
last letter bearing date 2d, 4th, July. I hope you have 
kept on writing. I have not been as punctual as formerly. 
I waited from day to day, hoping to hear from you, and so 
delayed to write. Another cause prevented for the last 
three days. During that time I was out on an expedition 
into Tennessee. 

DeCourcey's brigade, about twenty-five hundred strong, 
was detailed for the service. We were out two nights and 
three days, and some powder was burned in sending mis- 
siles after a few flying horsemen ; further than this, there 
was nothing in the military line to communicate. I found 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 105 

quiet but determined union men everywhere we went, and 
I learned details of atrocities that will be hard for posterity 
to believe 

The country through which we passed is good grazing 
and farming land, with limestone out-cropping everywhere. 
Just now, however, this entire section is suffering with a 
most extreme drouth. The farmers say they will not 
make more than half a crop of grain. 

The prospect throughout all the south is gloomy in the 
extreme. If the war should last another year, much suffer- 
ing may be anticipated. Disease, the result of exposures 
of the army, has played sad havoc with their troops in the 
field; and this, with short crops throughout rebeldom, will 
do much toward bringing the war to a speedy close. 

I am extremely anxious to hear from Boone, as vague 
rumors have reached me of risings of guerilla bands in the 
county. I hope to hear that no such thing has occurred. 
The rebels among you must know, if they have not thrown 
away their common sense, that they will be crushed to the 
earth. 

I heard verbally a few minutes since that General Boyle 
has issued a proclamation saying that no sympathizer with 
rebellion shall be a candidate for office in Kentucky. If 
so, it cuts up by the roots the clique in Boone who think 
they ought to rule the roost. Give me all the details of 
county matters in your next letters. 

I suppose you have received notice from bank at Coving- 
ton of the funds to your credit. The bank at Lexington 
notified me that the funds were forwarded. 

I found Edward Parrish at the Gap last Thursday, sick 
with fever, and I sent our ambulance for him, and now 
Jiave him in our tent. He is doing well, and in a few days 
will be able to return to duty. The only thing I have to 
complain of is the lack of sufficient horseback exercise. 
The jaunt into Tennessee was to me a God-send. Love to 
all. Yours truly, 



io6 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Cumberland Gap, July 30, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — I received yesterday your letters of the 8th, 
15th, and 22d July; Kate's of the 11th, and J. W. Calvert's 
of the 17th. 

I grieve much to learn the feeble condition of your 
father, and all the more from the knowledge that I 
am debarred from seeing him. I laid all of your 
letters before Col. Lindsey, who promised to make 
every effort in his power to secure me a short leave 
of absence, though he gave me no assurance of suc- 
cess, indeed he seemed most of the opinion that it could 
not be obtained. We have a daily sick list of fifty-five to 
sixty, and until the numbers diminish the authorities will 
not consent that I shall absent myself from my proper post. 
I cannot censure them for this action, as it is just in the 
main, however much of private grief it may occasion. 
I hope you will try and bear calmly the disappointment 
you may feel at this result. 

I believe I have not before this mentioned that I have a 
hospital for convalescents, some two miles from camp — one 
of the abandoned houses of the neighborhood being used 
for the purpose — which I visit three or four times a week. 

On my way there this evening I fell in with Dr. , 

Surgeon of one of the Kentucky regiments. He is a gen- 
tleman of commanding appearance and of fine address, 
and evidently he feels great confidence in his ability to 
meet any emergency which may arise in his present posi- 
tion. He dresses to death, and feels his oats more than 
any medical man in the division. I said to him, that I 
had a few cases of scurvy in my hospital and would be glad 
to have him dismount with me and look at them, which he 
did. After his examination I called up another man and 
said : " This man, doctor, is suffering with nostalgia " (home 
sickness). He overlooked him for a minute or two — wise 
as an owl — and remarked: " Yes, I see he is discharging 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 107 

pretty freely from his nostrils." The charm was rudely 
broken at once, and it was with difficulty that I managed 
to conceal my pity for his ignorance, and my contempt for 
his assumptions.* 

Our troops here are still strengthening the works, and in a 
short time they will be invulnerable to any force the rebels 
can possibly bring to bear on them. 

I wrote day before yesterday and have nothing more 
that is new to say. Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



* The world does not know, and will never learn the amount of 
domestic woe, the destitution and misery, the inevitable result of 
our great national struggle. This same nostalgic patient of mine, 
was a worthy poor man living in one of the northeastern counties 
of the state, at the period of the outbreak of the rebellion. He 
had enlisted in the army under promises that his family in his ab- 
sence should be cared for, and not be left to want. A day or two 
after the incident recorded in the letter above, his wife made her 
appearance at my hospital bearing in her arms an infant but five 
weeks old. She had made her way on foot, two hundred miles, 
traveling over the rugged mountain roads all across eastern Ken- 
tucky with the ghastly specters of famine and death haunting her 
every step. Two days before she left her home, a daughter of 
eleven, all the child she had except the babe, committed suicide by 
hanging herself, driven to it by family destitution. The story, as 
I learned it at the time, was full of pathos. I made an effort to 
procure the man a furlough, but failing in this, he and wife and 
babe disappeared from my hospital, and I never saw him again, but 
had to report him as a deserter ; the only deserter for whom I ever 
felt any pity or sympathy.! 

March 24, 1877. 

1 1 received this day a letter from a former commissioned officer 
of my Regiment asking me to procure a pension or back pay due 
to the poor fellow when he deserted. I fear nothing can be done 
for him. I will try. 



108 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Cumberland Gap, August 4, 1862. 
Dear Wife, — Yours of 25th July reached me Saturday 
evening. I don't know how to respond to some of your 
charges — direct and implied charges — that I returned from 
Dr. Brashears' table, on the 4th of July, "half-seas-over," 
with a ' ' drap in my e'e ;" shot in the neck ; fuddled ; mud- 
dled; so far gone that I could not tell the difference between 
tweedledum and tweedledee. Now don't you think I was 
ashamed of myself when I read your letter? Are you not 
ashamed for me ? Or for yourself, when after more than 
twenty years' knowledge of my most exemplary life you 
make such grave charges against me ? Will I ever be able 
to see your face again in peace ? Do you forgive me the 
wrong provided I acknowledge a wrong at all ? I confess 
to have drank, on the occasion referred to, just two stem 
glasses, and no more, of pure, unadulterated catawba. I 
could have safely " imbibed " twice, thrice, quadruple the 
quantity, and not have been hurt, but my regard for the 
proprieties of the occasion, and a just consideration of the 
rights of others in a fair distribution of the good things of 
this life restrained me from claiming an undue share, and 
instead of meriting a rebuke, I think myself entitled to 
your high commendation for my self-denying forbearance. 
And now if you won't ask my pardon, I suppose I must 
ask yours. 

"Wi' ghastly e'e, poor tweedledee 
Upon his hunkers bended, 
And prayed for grace, wi' ruefu' face, 
And sae the quarrel ended." 

T can now say positively that a leave of absence will not 
be granted to me. Nor would my resignation be accepted, 
if tendered without the endorsement by the Colonel com- 
manding that its acceptance would be for the good of the 
service, which would imply that I am worth just nothing. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 109 

I can't yet screw my courage to the sticking point to 
make the acknowledgment. 

I judge from the papers you are having lively times in 
Boone. I think and hope you have no serious grounds 
for apprehension for your safety of person or property. 
Unless the rebels in your midst go thoroughly, stark mad, 
certainly not ; because with half an eye they can see, if 
they will, that there is a power to control them and exact 
"an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." In my 
judgment, Morgan's raid will be of incalculable benefit in 
arousing the state from the stupor into which it had fallen. 

Our brigade is out again on an expedition into Tennessee, 
and, instead of three, will this time be out five days. 
There is no organized force of the enemy this side of 
Clinch River; beyond they are understood to be in force 
and control the approaches to Knoxville. 

The prevalent opinion here is that we will remain in 
position until the army of the Potomac is ready for another 
struggle with the enemy, and when it comes, I trust in 
God, success will be achieved. 

Edw. Parrish left me yesterday, well, very well, but a 
little feeble ; not quite fit for duty. 

Love to all with kisses to the children. 

Yours truly, 



Cumberland Gap, August 5, 1862. 

Dear Daughter, — I owe you an apology for leaving your 
last letter so long unanswered. Official duties, and an- 
swers to the numerous private letters addressed to me, is 
the justification I plead. 

Your gay times with your young friends had barely 
ended, before tribulation, fear, and distress seized on your 
entire community ; you, I suppose, with others. I hope 



no LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

there will be no serious trouble in Boone, though there are 
some most bitter and malignant men in its limits, who are 
ready for any desperate undertaking. I think I could, at 
this distance, name two or three men who have filled official 
positions in the county, who, I doubt not, have had a share 
in the troubles ; and if, when the details reach me, I do not 
find (* * *) has been prominent in the disturbance in 
the neighborhood of Big Bone, I will be disappointed. 
Let me know as far as you can the names of all the chief 
actors. Your mother in her last mentioned the misbehavior 
of union troops in Burlington. With new levies, such as 
you had with you, badly officered probably, you must 
expect such things, and much as their acts are to be 
regretted, no rebel sympathizer has any right to complain. 
They have deliberately taken arms, or as deliberately given 
aid and comfort to a cruel and wanton rebellion, and now 
they should hold their mouths sealed in shame, and in 
confusion hide their faces. 

What is to be the result of the struggle, is known only 
to the God of battles. I have thought that government 
has the power and the will to subdue the rebellion. I do, 
however, feel ashamed and mortified to say it has been 
but too often outwitted, outmaneuvered, repulsed, and 
defeated, when and where it should have been victorious. 
In no event will I ever consent to unite my fate with the 
south other than as a part of a great, whole, and united 
country. The Ohio River is no feasible line of division 
between two such nations as ours divided would make. 
The Cumberland range would make a better line ; and yet 
no honest patriot could for a moment think of surrendering 
up the loyal men of East Tennessee to the outrage and 
wrong to which they would be subjected, so long as he 
could lift a spear or wield a sword. 

Edw. Parrish left me day before yesterday, well, but a 
little feeble. I saw him again this afternoon, and told his 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. nr 

superior officers not to put him to duty for a week I find 
he stands almost too well at headquarters to hope for pro- 
motion. He is cheerful, intelligent, active, and a great 
favorite with General Morgan's staff. If promoted he would 
have other duties to discharge than those now assigned him, 
and they wish still to retain him. Now, is it not a hard 
case that a man's good qualities should be a bar to his 
advancement ? 

Remember me very kindly to your grandfather • it would 
afford me great pleasure to see him, but that can't be just 
now. Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



Cumberland Gap, August 12, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — I have not written to you for more than 
a week. I have waited hoping to hear from you, but all 
in vain, and I will delay no longer. 

I have nothing to write about but the expedition to Taze- 
well, Tennessee, of which I gave you notice in a former 
letter, but not its results. I started out on the second with 
three regiments, or rather parts of three regiments — the 
16th and 42d Ohio, and the 22d Kentucky. Two com- 
panies from each regiment are constantly engaged on fatigue 
or picket duty. The force numbered about two thousand 
men and was accompanied by two sections of artillery. 

Tazewell was reached in good time on Saturday and 
the force rested on their arms during the night. Sunday 
morning they passed the town, and on in the direction of 
Clinch River, which is seven miles beyond. During the 
day the 22d was in advance and was repeatedly engaged 
skirmishing with the enemy, and drove them from their 
positions. As night approachd the troops returned to their 
camping ground north of the town, and the wagon train, 



ii2 LE TTERS FR OM THE ARMY. 

seventy in number, was sent to the Gap loaded with forage 
supplies, and with orders to return with additional rations 
for the troops. 

I should before this have said the rebels are in force 
beyond the Clinch. Our best information is that they have 
nineteen regiments of Infantry, one of Cavalry, and sev- 
eral batteries of Artillery. 

Monday the wagon train with rations returned to Taze- 
well, and on Tuesday morning it was ordered south and 
west of the town to procure additional supplies of forage, 
and whilst so engaged it was near being cut off by the rebel 
cavalry. Wednesday morning the rebels almost surrounded 
two companies of the 16th Ohio and cut them up terribly. 
One captain and ten men were killed, and one captain and 
fifty-one men were made prisoners. The 22nd lost one 
man captured and had two severely wounded ; one in the 
spine, who will die; the other in the left thigh which will 
probably require amputation. 

The rebels report one hundred and ten men killed, and 
over two hundred wounded. We captured one Lieutenant- 
Colonel, one Captain, and sixteen men. Our prisoners re- 
port seven thousand troops in the field against our two 
thousand. Our troops returned here Wednesday night, 
bringing with them everything except a lot of knapsacks 
abandoned to the enemy. 

The safe return of the brigade is due alone to gallant 
fighting and skillful handling, together with better and 
more accurate artillery firing than the rebels seem to have 
attained. 

The reports just now rife in our camps are that the rebels 
will attempt to play on us the strategy we so successfully 
played on them — that is : getting on the line of our commu- 
nications, and thus, by cutting off our supplies, starve us out. 
If the attempt should be made I trust we can hold out 
long enough to be relieved. And if an assault should be 



LETTERS FR OM THE ARMY. 1 1 3 

made prepare to hear that the rebels have been terribly- 
punished for their temerity. 

The papers say Magruder commands in East Tennessee, 
and that we are soon, not only here, but everywhere in 
Kentucky, to have warm work. I have no doubt a desper- 
ate effort will be made to transfer the war into Kentucky, 
and if only the sympathizers with treason could be made to 
feel its horrors, for one I would not regret it much, but 
when the innocent are often made the greatest sufferers, it 
is too much to think on with any degree of patience. I 
trust government is alive to the necessities of the situation, 
and will use every energy to pluck safety from amid dan- 
ger. 

You asked after Charley. I have him still without his 
having rendered me any service for two months. When I 
entered the service he was a fine, showy horse, but now he 
is a poor, shabby, indifferent-looking beast. Nor is this the 
worst ; my little mare is taking distemper, and I may have 
to purchase another. Horse-flesh here suffers incredible 
hardships. Half the time we are out of grain and forage. 
It is no uncommon thing for the animals to go thirty-six 
to forty hours with only the small quantities of herbage 
they can pick up as they are led round. This starving 
process can't do otherwise than tell on their health. All 
that keeps my little mare up, is that she eats bread crust, 
waste or damaged crackers, rice, and indeed everything but 
meat, left at our meals. Charley I let run at large, but he is 
not so fastidious as the mare. As an evidence of the 
straits to which our horses have been reduced, allow me to 
tell what Charley did two days since whilst roaming round 
camp. He approached our hospital tent and seized the 
half of a boiled ham that was hanging against a tree, and 
though the act was witnessed by the cook, who was not 
twenty yards off, he had it under foot and half devoured be- 
fore he reached the beast ; and then for the amusement of 



114 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

the thing I permitted him to finish what remained, which 
he did to the wonder and surprise of a gaping crowd. 
Don't you think he will yet do for a foraging horse ? I wish 
you had him at home, but I see here no prospect to send 
him there. 

Send me a list of all who have run off from Boone, all 
who have been arrested, and all who have taken the oath 
of allegiance. And so the * * * boys have been captured 
on their way down into Dixie, and have learned by this 
time, that there is some danger in attempting to overthrow 
a great government? I hope they may be permitted to 
ruminate in safety over their folly and crime against society. 

I received Kate's last two days since and will write to 
her soon, provided our communications are not cut off by 
an invasion of the state. My health is still good as at any 
time since entering the service, and that means just as good 
as you have ever known it to be. Remember me kindly 
to your father, and to all enquiring friends. Love to all, 
with kisses to the children. 

Yours truly, 



Cumberland Gap, August 15, 1862. 

Dear Daughter, — I gave to your mother in my last a 
detail of the expedition to Tazewell, Tennessee. I have 
nothing new to say on the subject. The wounded of the 
22d are doing as well as could be expected. One will get 
well and one will die. 

I have the same daily routine of duties to perform, of 
which I gave you some inkling in a recent letter. I rarely 
go out of camp except to visit the brigade hospital, which 
is two miles distant. About once a week I visit staff divis- 
ion headquarters at the Gap. I have but little disposition 
to court those in authority and make myself scarce at the 
quarters of commanding officers 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 115 

Since the return from Tazewell we have many, but vague, 
rumors of a speedy attack on our position by the rebels, 
but up to the present time they have not dared to do such 
a thing \ nor do I believe with all their temerity, they will 
attempt it. The Gap as they left it, was a formidable po- 
sition; but the new works since erected, with the large in- 
crease of modern artillery, have in the opinion of compe- 
tent judges, quadrupled its strength. There is but one 
mode of attack left to the rebels by which to dislodge us, 
and that they can't put in operation without measuring 
arms with the entire north. I take it, the authorities that 
be, will not permit another raid into Kentucky without 
punishing the perpetrators most signally 

I think the country, the whole country, is at last aroused 
to the gravity and importance of a united and determined 
effort to suppress rebellion; and I still have unwavering 
confidence in the final result. The condition of affairs, as 
they exist at present, cannot last much longer even in Ten- 
nessee, and how much worse it is in the further south you 
may judge. * * * We have here the nucleus of a North 
Carolina regiment. Three companies have already been 
organized, and squads of refugees, from ten to twenty in 
number, are daily dropping in. They represent the con- 
dition of the people as most deplorable. Many of their 
neighbors, with their arms, tied behind, were marched off 
to the rebel armies, and those who had been most earnest 
in opposition to rebellion were manacled. What would the 
rebels of Boone say to such treatment? With them it is 
all right in aid of rebellion, but to preserve the government 
it would, be " horrible ! most horrible ! " 

I have a call from the Senior Surgeon of the division, 
Dr. Cloak, to accompany him to-morrow some fourteen 
miles to the rear to select suitable grounds for a division 
hospital. It gives me the opportunity for more horseback 
exercise than I have recently had, and it is therefore agree- 



1 1 6 LE TTERS FR OM THE A RMY. 

able to me, but I am sorry for my little mare, as she is get- 
ting quite thin. 

The whortleberry and blackberry season has gone by and 
the peach crop is just coming in; there is a good supply of 
the seedling peach in this section this year ; but the apple 
crop is limited and very inferior, nothing but seedlings, 
and worthless at that. 

Twelve months hence this region will be barely habita- 
ble. The surplus of other years has all been consumed, 
and almost all the green corn in ten miles of this point has 
already been cut up and fed to our stock, fed in the milk, 
and what remains of the crop of this year will barely carry 
families through the winter. 

Shall I have the pictures I called for, and when ? I 
weighed yesterday four pounds more than I did two months 
since. I eat heartily, sleep profoundly, and take it all in 
all, I enjoy life just about as well as a man could away 
from wife, children, and friends. I am somewhat aquatic 
in habit, and we have in fifty yards of my tent a splendid 
pool of water, clear, cool, and invigorating ; and I take a 
plunge into its depths daily. 

Kiss the children for me, and don't let Cora forget me. 
Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



Cumberland Gap, August 23, 1862. 
Dear Wife, — I venture to write to you again, with the 
hope of getting my letter through by a scout, who goes out 
to-morrow morning. I suppose you have many rumors as 
to the safety of our position. The rebels are in force all 
round us, but they do not come in range of our guns. 
What is occurring outside we know not, as we have had 
no mails for more than two weeks. You need fear nothing 
for us, as we have subsistence for sixty days in store, and 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 117 

we dare the rebels, with all their temerity, to attempt to 
take us by assault. 

Once or twice a week, one or two brigades march a few 
miles into Tennessee or Virginia to procure forage for our 
stock, when the rebels fall back and refuse to give us bat- 
tle. On these occasions there is a little skirmishing, some 
wounds inflicted, and occasionally a man killed. 

I have heard nothing from Burlington since the fourth 
of this month, and I feel quite anxious for a report from 
you. I suppose some of your letters were c aptured at 
Barboursville, or Pogue's, ten miles this side, as we under- 
stand both offices were raided by the rebels ; if so I hope 
they contained no information that would be of service to 
the scamps. 

Just as soon as the blockade of our road is relieved, I 
want you to send me a whole host of back numbers of the 
papers of the day, that I may read up and learn what you 
outside barbarians have been doing. 

I wish I had time to write more, but I have not. My 
health was never better, nor my spirits more buoyant. 
God bless you all. Many, very many, kisses to the chil- 
dren. 

Yours truly, 



Cumberland Gap, September 4, 1862. 
Dear Wife, — I take the opportunity of a citizen leaving 
our lines to write to you again. I hope my letter of last 
week reached you. It was intended by me, to have it 
mailed at Manchester in Clay County, which is now our only 
outlet. How long that may remain unclosed is more than 
I can say. Our cooping up here at present is exceedingly 
annoying, as we presume important events are transpiring 
all around us. As a nation we have passed through the 
convulsions and upheavings of a century in a year. We 



n8 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

are now in the transition period, and historic events of vast 
importance may have occurred whilst we have been shut 
up in the mountains. You can have only a slight opinion of 
our anxiety for intelligence, as our scouts up to the pres- 
ent time have failed, for two weeks to come in. 

I still entertain no fears for the safety of our position, 
and the rebels seem to appreciate its strength. They not 
only fail to come within range of our guns, but invariably 
fall back when we go out on foraging expeditions. 

I would be exceedingly much pleased to send you 
sketches of scenery here, if I could find a competent artist, 
but all that I have seen are the merest daubs, and to send 
such abortions would be a sin against the Most High, who 
created the magnificent prospect around us to excite our 
reverence and not to be caricatured by puny " daubsters." 

The troops here have recently undergone great labor and 
fatigue in strengthening our position and in guarding all 
approaches, and as a result much sickness prevails; but I 
am happy in saying to you that within a week the amount 
has diminished one half in the 22d. The cases have gen- 
erally been febrile in character and mild in type. I re- 
ported this morning as unfit for duty thirty-six in quarters 
and fourteen in hospital, which is considered a pretty clean 
bill of health for a regiment as full as ours.* 

I hope you have kept on writing to me weekly as the 
blockade will be raised ere long, and then I expect to re- 
ceive an avalanche of agreeable news. 

Let me hear from your father regularly and give me all 
the local news of the county. Kiss the children for me, 
many, very many, times, and except a score of kisses for 
yourself. 

Yours truly, 



* When Kirby Smith made his entrance into Kentucky, and got 
on the line of our communications, our military authorities dis- 



LE TTERS FR OM THE ARMY. 1 1 9 

Manchester, Clay County, Kentucky, ") 
September 10, P. M. j 

Dear Wife,— DeCourcey's Brigade, 16th, 42d Ohio, 
7th, 22d Kentucky regiments, was ordered to this point 
on the 8th, We reached camp one mile north of Man- 
chester at 8 a. m. this day, making the distance, fifty 
miles, in just about forty-eight hours. 

11th. At sundown last evening the long roll called 
to arms, and the troops were marched to the hilltop 
between camp and town, where they were kept under arms 
all night. Capt. Foster's Battery (1st Wisconsin) is with 
us. A portion of John Morgan's command is hovering 
around us. 

8 a. m., 12th, returned to camp for breakfast. I 
understand we wait here for the coming up of Gen. 
George W. Morgan. 



played the utmost trepidation. DeCourcey's brigade was in the 
valley of Yellow Creek, one and a half miles nor-'nor'-west of the 
Gap. He was ordered immediately to the crest of the mountain 
range, east by north-east, one mile from the Gap. To reach the 
locality a detour was necessary, which increased the distance to not 
less than four miles. And the elevation to be surmounted was 
not less than two thousand feet. Tents, camp equipage, and every- 
thing connected with a two months' encampment, were taken up 
on the shoulders of the men. This labor was accomplished in two 
days, and they were two of the hottest days of the month of Au- 
gust. I never witnessed severer or more exhausting labor. For 
ten days following this movement the 22d reported more men on 
"sick list" than at any time during my connection with it. And 
the like result followed in the other regiments of the brigade. 

Whilst the men were undergoing this extraordinary labor under a 
fervid, burning sun, the horses and mules and wagons of the brigade 
were standing idle, and the road by which the wagons could have 
reached the position was shorter and better than the longer route 
the men were compelled to take. I have never been able to con- 
ceive a reasonable apology for such disregard of ordinary hygienic 
laws. 



120 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

18th. This day at 2 p. m. a soldier, of the 7th Kentucky, 
shot and instantly killed a comrade. Gen. Morgan came 
up a couple of hours later and immediately ordered a 
Court Martial trial of said soldier. 

Saturday 19th, Court Martial tried, convicted, and 
sentenced prisoner to death. 

20th, sentence executed. 

Our line of retreat is through a district of country 
where one of our companies was organized, and at about 
the time of the killing referred to above, the wives of 
two of our soldiers came into camp on a visit to their hus- 
bands, and during the night I was called to attend one of 
them in child birth. A baby — "Picture it, think of it, 
dissolute man!" — alive "gal" baby. born in the midst of 
ten thousand soldiers and never a fig leaf in sight to cover 
its nakedness. 

" The muckle black deil fly away wi' the brat." 

I was compelled to tear up two of my shirts to make 
swaddling bands and slips in which to dress it. 'Tis some 
comfort, however, to know that I had taken most of the 
wear out of them. Can't you replace them soon? Life 
and death you see march with equal step all along the 
pathway of life from the cradle to the grave. 

Sunday Night, 10 P. M. 
We are now burning a hundred wagons and every thing 
that would impede our march. 

Stripping for a fight or a foot race, whichsoever may 
befall us, we are in trim for what may come. 
Love to all with many kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 121 

"Headquarters, Cumberland Gap,") 
September 14, 1862. j 

A council of war, convened by Brigadier - General 
Morgan, commanding the forces at Cumberland Gap, 
assembled at headquarters at 11 a. m., to-day. Present: 
Brigadier-General Morgan, commanding, Brigadier-General 
Spears, Brigadier - General Baird, and Brigadier - General 
Carter. The brigade of Colonel DeCourcey absent on de- 
tached service. The proceedings were opened by General 
Morgan stating in detail the information in his possession 
relating to the position and numbers of the Union and 
rebel forces in Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and as 
to the probabilities of succor, both of men and supplies, 
reaching this post, and of the condition of the troops as 
to supplies of food, clothing, and ammunition. General 
Morgan stated that the council was convened to consider 
the question of remaining at the Gap or evacuating the 
position, and that he should be governed by the decision 
of the council, as far as that question was concerned. 

After a free interchange of opinion, it was agreed unani- 
mously that, in view of all the circumstances of the case, 
the position should be evacuated. 

[Signed] GEO. W. MORGAN, Brigadier-General. 
J. G. SPEARS, 
A. BAIRD, 
S. P. CARTER, 

W. P. CRAIGHILL, 
1st Lieut, of Engineers, U. S. A., 
Recorder of Council." 



122 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Statement of subsistence stores on hand on the seventeenth day 
of September, the day of evacuation, submitted to the Council 
of War by Brigadier-General Morgan : 

12,000 men, 



50,384 lbs. Bacon, 

336 bushels Beans, 

9,000 lbs. Rice, 

1,300 lbs. Sugar, 

19,230 lbs. Coffee, 

11,890 lbs. Mixed Vegetables, 

3,631 Desiccated Potatoes, 

5,650 Soap 

75 barrels Salt, ...... 

295 gallons Vinegar, . . . 
[Signed] 



5^ days' rations, 
15 *< 

X " 

16 
17 

sy 2 



G. M. ADAMS, 



Commissary of Subsistence U. S. A. 

In addition it should here be stated that for three weeks 
not a pound of subsistence stores had reached the post, 
and that the horses and mules were absolutely starving. 



Cincinnati, Oct. 15, 1862. 
General G. W. Cullum, Chief of Staff, 

Headquarters of the Army of the United States : 

General, — I have the honor herewith to transmit a copy 
of the report of Brigadier-General Geo. W. Morgan, dated 
the 12th inst., detailing the circumstances of the with- 
drawal of his forces from Cumberland Gap. 

While the evacuation of the Gap is to be regretted, I do 
not see, with starvation staring him in the face, and with 
no certainty of relief being afforded, how he could have 
come to any other conclusion than the one arrived at. 

The march of General Morgan from Cumberland Gap 
to the Ohio River was most successfully accomplished, and 
reflects much credit upon him and his officers for the. skill 
with which it was conducted, and upon the men for the 
cheerfulness with which they bore the hardships of a toil- 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 123 

some march of some 200 miles, on scanty fare, over a 
country affording little subsistence, and often for long 
marches without water. H. G. WRIGHT, 

Major-General Commanding. 



Portland, Ohio, Oct. 6, 1862. 

Dear Daughter, — It is two months since I have written 
to you. I now resume with great pleasure. I mailed at 
Greenup, Kentucky, on Saturday last, 4th inst., three 
letters for your mother. One written at Cumberland Gap, 
which I found in the post office at Manchester, and re- 
claimed ; one written at Manchester, and another written 
in Greenup ; and I wrote this morning a short note which 
I sent by early train. 

The presumption is that we will be detained here a few 
days to refit and renew our camp equipments. In aban- 
doning the Gap, all our tents were burned and everything 
destroyed not absolutely necessary to our safety and wel- 
fare. Of course, much of my clothing went by the board. 
My army experience, thus far, will be of service to me in 
the future. I will not hereafter carry with me more than 
one suit of clothes with the necessary changes of under- 
garments. 

You will find in the Gazette a detailed account of our 
march across eastern Kentucky. It is very fair and cor- 
rect in its outlines, only it does not bring out in strong 
enough colors, the difficulty of subsisting ten thousand 
men, for days together, on corn meai, grated on ex- 
temporized graters manufactured out of the ordinary tin 
plate by punching holes with the points of bayonets, old 
nails, and everything else that could be pressed into 
service. * 

I regret much that the emergencies of the service will 
not allow me to visit home at present. I hope you will all 



124 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

bear the disappointment philosophically ; the day is com- 
ing, and I think soon, when I may return without moles- 
tation, and to remain. 

If your mother thinks she can afford to spend the means 
for you and her to visit me I will be very glad to have 
you do so. We may leave here before you can reach this 
point, but you will certainly be able to come up with us 
at Gallipolis. I have no time for more, and close. 

Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



Portland, Ohio, Oct. 13, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — I mailed to you at Greenup, a week 
since, three letters, and at this place I have mailed two 
more, and one to Kate, but having received no answer to 
any of them, I take it as granted you have no mail commu- 
nication with Cincinnati. This I entrust to a friend who 
goes to-day to the city ; and he promises to forward it, if 
any means present. 

In a former letter from this point, I asked you to come 
and see me, as it is not possible for me to procure a leave 
of absence The press for furloughs is great, but they can- 
not be obtained without violating the orders of the war 
department. My only hope to get home is, that the Med- 
ical Director may require the presence of a surgeon in 
the city, in which event I have the promise of the appoint- 
ment. I prefer that you should not wait on such a contin- 
gency, but come at once, and bring all the children with 
you, if you think you can afford the expense. You must 
be sole judge, as at present I cannot meet any part of it ; 
nor can I say when the regiment will be paid off again. 
If you should come here and I am out of the way on your 
arrival, call at the house of Mr. Burk, Post Master, and 
you will meet a cordial welcome. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 125 

Our destination is understood to be West Virginia, and 
if we get off without my seeing you, I may not have an- 
other opportunity for twelve months to come, and I will 
very much regret if you let the occasion slip. If you come 
it will be by Chillicothe, and on your return you would 
probably have some pleasure in calling on Job Stevenson 
and family, who reside there. I think they will be pleased 
to meet you. 

I am getting very tired waiting to hear from you, but 
will try to preserve my equanimity as best I may. 

Love to all, with kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



Portland, Ohio, Oct. 19, 1862. 
Mr. Erastus Tousey, • 

Burlington, Kentucky. 

My Dear Sir, — I owe you an apology for not having 
written direct to you long before this, and I have to say 
my only reason for the failure is that I regarded my letters 
to Lida as family affairs, and I presumed you would see 
and read them for yourself. 

The papers of the day have given to the public all the 
details of our march from Cumberland Gap to the Ohio 
River, that it would be proper to expose at present, but I 
think there is a history of the expedition yet to be written 
which will change the opinions of the world as to its impor- 
tance, and the policy on which it was based. That it has 
failed in its original design is now manifest to all ; and the 
causes leading to that failure when they come to be inves- 
tigated, will, I think, vindicate the propriety of Gen. 
Morgan's action.* 

On our way out some of our boys — the improvident ones 
— suffered some, but those of them who knew how to take 



126 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

care of themselves fared pretty well. For ten days no ra- 
tions except coffee were issued, and all had to procure the 
means of subsistence as best they could. Our camps were 
always chosen in the neighborhood of a good-sized cornfield, 
and for hours after reaching camp our hand mills were en- 
gaged in grating the needed subsistence for the succeeding 
day's march, and you may rest assured it was no trifling 
matter to turn out bread for ten thousand men, on graters 
made by punching holes through tin plates. 

The reason for our two weeks' delay at this point I can't 
explain j on the Ohio River we would have had an abun- 
dance of pure water which here we have not, and there we 
might have been just as well subsisted as here. 

I regret very much that I have not been permitted to 
visit Burlington to see you, but our authorities shelter them- 
selves behind an order from the war department, when not 
disposed to grant favors, and whe'n so disposed send men 
to do some frivolous duty that could just as well have 
been attended to by telegraph. This kind of indulgence 
has been extended to almost all of the field officers of our 
regiment, and to a number of the line officers also, but I 
know of but a single instance where one of the Medical 
Staff of the Division has been so favored. 

Lida's talk with you will be more satisfactory to you 
than anything I can write. My health I think better than 
at any time within the last ten years, but it remains to be seen 
how well I can stand a fall and winter campaign. You 
may rest assured that I will avail myself of the very first 
opportunity to return to Burlington. Nor am I without 
hope, that the day is not very distant. Col. Lindsey is 
now in Frankfort; he is very much averse to going to 
West Virginia and will do all in his power to change our 
destination, and I am sanguine he will succeed, in which 
event I will have the opportunity to see you. 

Lida tells me what treatment you have given yourself. I 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 127 

believe I can't make a suggestion in the way of change; in 
my view, however, the less medicine the better, and none 
of a depleting character. 

Remember me kindly to all the family, and I embrace 
in that category aunt Lydia and Martha. 
Yours truly, 



* The brightest feather in Gen. Morgan's plume was won in 
the retreat from Cumberland Gap. In a fight, audacity and dash 
often accomplish wonders. A retreat, however, tests a man's 
mettle. This one was accomplished, amid many difficulties, with 
prudence, circumspection, and unflagging energy. 



Winfield, West Virginia, Oct, 27, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — The day after you and Kate left me at 
Portland, our division commenced its march for Gallipolis 
which we reached next evening. We had expected to 
remain there a few days, but intelligence to Gen. Cox say- 
ing that the rebels were pressing Lightburn, changed the 
programme, and we were marched steadily to this place, 
which we reached at three o'clock Saturday evening. It 
was a misty, bleak, cold day, with high winds blowing up 
the valley of the Kanawha, and we were all glad when the 
order to halt came. 

My tent was carelessly pitched, and during the night it 
set in to snow, and such a snow storm I do not remember 
ever to have witnessed in the month of October. At three 
o'clock yesterday morning, I was comfortably wrapped in 
the arms of Morpheus, dreaming of home and friends, when 
down came my tent, leaving me exposed to the "peltings 
of a pitiless storm " of rain, hail, sleet, and snow. I at- 
temped for ten minutes, bare-footed and under bare poles, 
to adjust matters, but was compelled to give it up as a bad 
job, and flee to the ambulance for protection. It continued 



128 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

to snow all of yesterday, and take it altogether, it was a day 
of much discomfort. To-day, however, comes out grandly, 
with the sun bright and glowing enough to dry all our clothes 
and bedding which were saturated by the catastrophe of 
Saturday night. 

I received by the mail of to-day a large package of Ga- 
zettes which I presume came from you. They date back to a 
time anterior to our abandonment of the Gap. I suppose 
you found your trunk on your return to Cincinnati, as I 
have a vague impression of your saying you had in it 
papers for me. Tell me something of Garibaldi. I see 
allusions to his imprisonment and his wound; what has he 
been doing ? Here no one can explain the affair, and I did 
not think to mention it when you were in Ohio. 

I have been surprised, most agreeably surprised, with the 
Kanawha Valley. Its bottoms are broad, and quite as fer- 
tile as those of the Ohio, and the farms and improvements 
)vl>X as good. And now after a summer of unusual drouth, 
I find crops of grain equal to any I have seen elsewhere in 
other and more favorable seasons. The river is naviga- 
ble for small class boats to Charleston, which is twenty- 
five miles above this place. 

There are some reasons to expect our return to Ken- 
tucky soon. We cannot remain here long in our present 
force without creating embarrassment about our subsistence, 
as there are not boats enough running the river to keep up 
a supply. I think we will resume our march to-morrow 
morning. I hope to hear from you often, and always let 
me know how your father is. 

Love to all, with many kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 129 

Winfield, West Virginia, Oct. 28, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — Your note from Covington and Kate's from 
home, 22d inst., reached me this evening. Neither of you 
mentions the lost trunk ; so I take it for granted you found 
it on your return to the city. 

I was mistaken in supposing we would resume the march 
to-day, though marching orders were issued, and a number 
of tents struck, but the order was countermanded. We 
will, without doubt, I think, start by sunrise in the morn- 
ing, and I may not be able to forward this before we reach 
Charleston. * * ' * * 

* * * It is now nine p. m. and the order ljas just 
this minute reached me to be ready to march at six to- 
morrow morning, which makes it necessary for all hands 
to be up at four. So I will close for the present and pre- 
pare for bed, leaving this to be finished in the future ; in- 
deed, I don't know when you may get it, as there is no 
regular mail from even so populous a town as Charleston. 

October 29t/i. 

We resumed march at sunrise this morning and made 
twelve miles to noon, stopping in the midst of one of the 
finest bottom farms I have seen in all my wanderings. 
We have had a most delightful day of it — a little bit 
frosty in the morning, but after the sun got up it was all 
that could be asked. 

We expect to reach Charleston to-morrow, if on the way 
a battle is not fought. The camp news is that the rebels 
are entrenching a strong position four miles this side of 
town, with the determination to stop our progress. I don't 
know how much truth there is in the report ; if true, how- 
ever, they must get out of the way, or somebody will be 
hurt, as the determination seems earnest to go onward. 

The more I see of this grand country, the more earnest 
and decided are my condemnations of the great wrong of 



130 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

attempting to break up and destroy such a government as 
we have had. 

You remember my friend Manfred and his graceful ap- 
pearance. An amusing comment on it was made to-day, as 
he and I were riding along the line of one of the Tennessee 
regiments. You must know that his equestrian is even 
superior to his pedestrian grace. "Look," said one of the 
boys, "how that man rides; his horse trots and he gallops; 
he will get to his journey's end first." The doctor relished 
the jest much as any of us. You will think me frivolous 
to write such nonsense, but, what am I to do? We have no 
newspaper mail, that is, no regular mail, as everything of 
that sort stops wherever rebeldom puts down its treach- 
erous foot, and I have little but gossip and the country to 
write about. 

Love to all, with regards to friends, and kisses to the 
children. 

Yours truly, 



Charleston, West Virginia, Oct. 30, 1862. 

Dear /., — Your favor of the 17th reached me yesterday. 
I am obliged to you for your kindness in writing to me in 
the absence of your sister from home. She and Kate left 
me at Portland, Ohio, on the 22nd. 

In the dearth of general news, I do not know what to 
write about. Here, as everywhere that rebeldom sets its 
foot, the sources of information are dried up. There are no 
mails, no newspapers, no general intelligence, and nothing 
outside of dry details of military marches to write about; 
and they are by general consent regarded as unfit topics for 
ladies' letters. Am I not in a quandary ? 

I mentioned to Lida my admiration of the Kanawha 
Valley. I have not seen a more beautiful or a more fer- 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 131 

tile country in all my wanderings. The bottoms are broad 
as those of the Ohio, as far up as this point, and as level 
almost as a floor ; this feature I consider as objectionable, 
because of its tameness. All the low lands along the 
river, I judge, are subject to overflow by such floods as we 
had last winter and spring. 

Charleston is situated on the east bank of the river, just 
above the junction of Elk River with the Kanawha. We 
reached camp yesterday, just before sundown, immediately 
on the north bank of the Elk; and before dismounting I 
rode to a favorable elevation, and drew my field glass on 
the town, and can only say that my first impressions are 
favorable. With most of our officers the location of our 
camp near to a town is agreeable; it is otherwise with me, 
as I have always found the men have much better health 
when on the march, rather than when in camp. It was 
even so when the men complained of being half-starved, 
on the march from Cumberland Gap. 

The far-famed Kanawha salines commence two miles 
above the town, and extend some eight miles further up 
the river. I anticipate much pleasure in visiting them, 
which I purpose to do in a few days. 

And so you have committed a felony ! You have dared 
to break open one of my letters, and then to write about it 
as though you had been guilty of only an ordinary, little 
matter-of-course act! When I get home I will have you 
indicted, tried, convicted, sentenced ; and then rather than 
have you go unwhipped of justice for so grievous a wrong 
I will myself inflict the punishment. Now don't you feel 
sorrow and remorse, fear and anguish, at the impending 
danger to your lips ? 

What is to be the outcome of our expedition here is more 
than I can tell. Most of the officers think our stay here is 
to be brief ; whence comes the opinion I know not : their 
wishes may be father to the thought. But as the Rebels 



132 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

have fallen back before us, the inference seems general 
that they cannot subsist beyond this point, and must of 
necessity cross the mountain chain into the Shenandoah 
Valley ; and, having done so, they will not be able to return 
before May next. The reasoning may be correct, but 
knowing nothing about future events I shall say nothing 
more on the subject. Now don't charge me with writing 
on an interdicted subject. I have only mentioned the spec- 
ulations of others, and as my mind is engrossed with these 
things it slipped off the point of my pen before I was aware 
of it. 

War is a most terrible calamity, and I can now to some 
extent appreciate the feelings of King David when he chose 
to fall into the hands of the living God, rather than those 
of his enemies, the latter being men. There, there you see 
the one subject will out-crop. 

My opinion is that we shall ere long be sent elsewhere, 
because with the present force here there will soon be trouble 
in the subsistence department. The recent storm has raised 
the river three feet, and a larger class of boats are coming 
up, and we have just now on hand a full supply of " grub " 
— grub, do you know what it means ? 'Tis not a very nice 
word for ears polite, but it embraces in a single syllable 
everything in the way of food that a soldier consumes; and 
only a greenhorn uses any other term. 

Remember me kindly to enquiring friends. 
• Yours truly, 



Charleston, West Virginia, November 3, 1862. 
Dear Daughter, — I received this morning two letters 
from your mother. I have written twice to her, and once 
to you since we parted at Portland. I hope all were re- 
ceived. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 133 

The day after you left Portland we started for Gallipolis, 
at six in the morning, and reached there the next evening. 
I had no opportunity to see the town as we were marched 
through and on to camp two miles above, without halting, 
and at daylight on the following morning we resumed our 
march to this place. 

The newspaper correspondents have described Western 
Virginia in such dark gloomy colors, that I had made up 
my mind to find a land sterile and mountainous, and its- 
inhabitants a semi-barbarous people. You may imagine 
my surprise in finding the valley of the Kanawha culti- 
vated, fertile, and beautiful, as any portions of the Ohio that 
I have seen; with fine comfortable houses and desirable 
farms, from the mouth of the river to this point. The 
bottoms will average a mile in width, and the yield this 
year is greatly superior to that of any other section of the 
country I have seen. The summer and fall have been 
unusually dry, but I have never seen better crops of corn, 
hay, and pumpkins, grown anywhere, during the most favor- 
able seasons. 

The wealthy of this section are generally disloyal ; but 
the working men, the small farmers, the bone and sinew 
of the land, are all in favor of maintaining the unity and 
integrity of the nation, on which are based all their hopes 
of future prosperity. Their commercial relations are with 
the valley of the Ohio, and until some convulsion of nature 
shall make for the Kanawha an outlet to the sea, other 
than through the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, the interest of 
the dwellers along its banks will be indissolubly linked to 
the fortunes of those streams. 

I visited yesterday, with Dr. Brashears the nearest and 
the smallest of the salt-boiling works, some two miles 
above town, and found a much more extensive business 
than I had expected. The establishment sold, last year, 
two hundred and fifty thousand bushels of salt, and this 



134 'LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

year the owners made arrangements to increase on that 
quantity, which would have been done, so said one of the 
managers to me, but for the recent interference of the 
rebels. They occupied the valley three weeks, during 
which period all the establishments suspended work at a 
heavy loss to both employers and employed. 

I understand a majority of the owners of furnaces here 
are sympathizers with rebellion. They thought it to their 
interest to suspend operations in the presence of their 
friends, when they had run their establishments for twelve 
months under the protection of the government troops. 
The bare statement of such a fact needs no comment, other 
than to say our troops passed the works on Friday last, 
and this morning, Monday, they all resume work. 

The forests have assumed their richest, gaudiest, autumnal 
tints. Whilst riding up the valley yesterday, I could but 
admire the landscape as one of surprising beauty and 
grandeur, transcending the art of man to transmit to 
canvas, and any attempt of mine at a verbal description 
would fall so far short of the painter's cunning that I stop 
short. 

In the conflict of armies, Charleston has suffered as 
much, perhaps more than any town in all the country. 
Lightburn, in his retreat, set fire to his commissary stores 
to prevent their falling into rebel hands, and the flames 
communicated with adjoining houses, and thus a goodly 
portion of the town was laid in ruins. The bank build- 
ing was set on fire by a shell from the enemy, and in addi- 
tion to all, a costly suspension bridge, spanning the mouth 
of Elk River, was thrown down by the cutting of the cables. 
All this, however, I suppose you heard of at the time the 
events were transpiring, but I knew nothing of them until 
we reached here. 

I have just this minute learned that two of my letters for 
home, which should have gone out by the boat of last 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 135 

Saturday, are both of them now in Sumner's breeches 
pocket, through sheer carelessness on his part. If you 
have any maledictions to pour out, do it on his head; he is a 
preacher and can bear all you may have to say. These 
things are annoying, but I will try to restrain myself. 

I hold to my previously expressed opinion, that this 
division will not remain here long, but I am just as de- 
cided we will not go to the Potomac, as your Ma's last 
letter suggested. 

Love to all, with kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



Charleston, West Virginia, Novei?iber 6, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — Yours of 31st October reached me this 
evening, and all I can say in reference to your suggestion 
is that Gen. Cox's command is in the Department of the 
East, and his troops are under command of Gen. McClellan. 
I do not desire to go east, but if my regiment is ordered 
there, I will have no choice, but to obey. You probably 
saw the announcement of our connection with the army ot 
the Potomac, in the Louisville Democrat. I have seen it 
nowhere else. If it be true, there may be a much wider 
space of country between us before we meet again. 

I am almost entirely relieved of my rheumatic attack, but 
the boil on the back of my neck has occasioned much pain 
and annoyance ; and none the less from being among men 
who jest about such things. I hate a fussy man and try to 
bear the ills I have, with all the philosophy I can master. 

I wrote to Leab this evening ; the letter, I suppose, will 
reach him by the mail that conveys this, and his letter has 
ruined yours, as I had intended to say something about my 
visit to the upper salt-boiling establishment here, but, writ- 
ing first to him, I said all I have to say on the subject. He 



136 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

may let you see it, as there is nothing to forbid, nor much 
to interest in it. Remember me always kindly when you 
write to Georgetown. I will write there to-morrow. 

I hope to receive soon the promised picture of Cora ; I 
will wear the image of the dear little prattler near my 
heart always, and may she thus be a perpetual bond of 
union and sympathy between us. 

Love to all. Yours truly, 



Charleston, West Virginia, November 9, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — I believe I acknowledged, in a former let- 
ter, the receipt of yours written at the Gibson House ; I 
have now the more agreeable information to communicate 
of the safe arrival at this place of your box containing two 
shirts, four pairs of superior woolen socks, and four jars of 
jelly. I drew on a pair of the socks at once, as all I had 
before were out at heel and toe. One jar of the jelly I pre- 
sented as a specimen of your handiwork to Col. Lindsey, 
who requested me to return thanks for it, and another was 
opened at my mess table at supper, and all concurred in 
praising it as prime. 

We are under marching orders for the mouth of the river 
to-morrow morning. What will be our destination from that 
point, the future must determine. General Morgan is or- 
dered to report at Cincinnati. If the division goes there, 
I will endeavor to get home, if it be for a few hours only. 

I have no time for more, as Sumner is ready to take the 
mail to the boat. Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



LE TTERS FR OM THE A RMY. 1 37 

Cincinnati, Ohio. November 15, 1862. 

Dear Wife — Our brigade reached here at noon to-day; 
our boat ("The Jewess") with the 22d, being in the rear 
of the fleet, in consequence of its sticking for several hours 
on a sand bar. 

I had hoped we would go into camp here for a few 
days, but my information is that we go down the river at 
once. I need not say to you how much 1 am disappointed, 
as I had thought that certainly I would this time be per- 
mitted to visit home when passing almost in sight. But 
having from the ^tar mac e up my mind that my primary 
duty is obedience to orders, I won't now say a word 
against the onward march. 

I will try to find some one from Burlington to take this 
out to you this evening, but, failing in that, will mail it. 

The Ohio regiments were paid off on our way down the 
river, and ours will be between here and Louisville. I 
will send funds from that point and deposit in some of the 
Cincinnati banks, subject to your order. 

Love to all. Yours truly, 



Louisville, Kentucky, November 17, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — We reached this place at three and a half 
o'clock this evening. Immediately on arrival the Pay- 
master settled with me; and I leave with the Adams Ex- 
press Company four hundred dollars to deposit with the 
banking house of Gilmore & Co., of Cincinnati, subject to 
your order. I retain more than my usual amount, because 
I go further from home, and it will cost me more to live in 
the south than where I have heretofore been. 

I am very busy just now, and can't say anything more, 
but will write again when on the river. Love to all. 
Yours truly, 



138 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Louisville, Kentucky, Nov. 18, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — I wrote to you yesterday apprising you of 
my sending to Gilmore & Co., four hundred dollars to 
your credit. I send to-day the receipt of the express com- 
pany for same. 

I want to call your attention to my Iowa business. Un- 
less the tax is paid the land will revert to the state. I 
hope you have funds to spare the necessary amount, with- 
out any inconvenience. Ellyson's letter, which I forward, 
shows you the amount. Have a bill drawn on New York 
and forward to him at Des Moines, Iowa. 

We are now lying in a lock of the canal, where we were 
caught at dark, and the night is so very dark and foggy 
the Captain decided to wait for daylight. 

The general impression is that we start for Memphis 
early in the morning. At the rate of progression from 
Cincinnati to this place we will not reach our destination 
for a week. 

I feel that injustice was done in denying me the privi- 
lege to visit home when at Cincinnati, but making com- 
plaints will not mend the matter now, and so I will not 
indulge further in it. Love to all, with kisses to the chil- 
dren. 

Yours truly, 



Steamboat " Jewess," Nov. 24, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — We are approaching Cairo, where I sup- 
pose we will lie for the rest of the day, and the night. Our 
trip from Louisville here has been a slow but very agree- 
able one to me. We are under way only by daylight in 
consequence of the low stage of the river, and the fog at 
night. 

I have had what I have long desired : an opportunity to 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 13 

see deliberately the Ohio river and its surroundings, and I 
have had it under more favorable circumstances than by 
any other mode of navigation. I have been wonderfully 
pleased with all that I have seen. A calm, beautiful river, 
studded with thrifty towns all along its banks ; dotted here 
and there with islands, which add to its picturesque 
scenery; with broad fertile bottoms, which lack only the 
intelligent husbandry of freemen to make them blossom 
as the garden of paradise. 

Our destination I have just learned is Columbus, Ken- 
tucky, instead of Memphis, Tennessee. The troops con- 
centrating at the former point will be attached to the 13th 
Army Corps, which is under command of Major-Gen. John 
A. McClernand, of Illinois. Our final destination is Vicks- 
burg, to aid in opening up the navigation of the Mississippi 
River. We will probably remain at Columbus until the 
middle of December. 

Large bodies of troops are making their way down the 
river from all points. Our fleet consists of six steamers, 
which all go in one squadron. Another of similar num- 
ber is daily in sight, sometimes in advance and sometimes 
in the rear of us. It presents a most animating panorama. 

You are aware that two of our companies were recruited 
in Louisville. We remained there near forty-eight hours 
and one hundred and two of our men gave us French 
leave. We expect, however, to find most of them at 
Cairo. 

The weather has been delicious and balmy, with only 
two days of mist, rather than rain, since we left the Ka- 
nawha. It has been most agreeable to me, but it would 
have been better for the country to have had a rise of the 
rivers. We have touched only at Evansville since leaving 
Louisville, and we know nothing that is transpiring in the 
world at large, but we hope to post up on reaching Cairo. 

Kate may now take her turn in scolding about illegible 



Ho LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

writing, but I have the apology of the boat's motion in my 
behalf. I think, however, you will be able to decipher 
wh it I have written with more ease than I do much of 
her's written at home. 

Address me at Columbus, Kentucky. Give my love 
to all, with many kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



Memphis, Tennessee, Nov. 29, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — You will see by the heading that I was 
misinformed in reference to our going into camp at Colum- 
bus. When we reached that point our fleet anchored out 
in the river, and so remained all day, but finally orders 
came to proceed to this place. We reached here Wednes- 
day night at twelve, and were detained on the boats un- 
til three p. m. next day, awaiting orders. They came 
at last, and we were busy until dark pitching tents, arrang- 
ing camp, and fixing up comfortably. 

I have as yet seen little of the city, but that little has 
impressed me very favorably. It is certainly located to 
insure a great future, if we shall escape a prolonged in- 
ternecine war; but if the present strife should run into a 
chronic condition, as it would surely do by permanent sep- 
aration, then might her citizens bid adieu to all hopes of 
future greatness. 

My present impressions are that we will go forward 
pretty soon to General Grant's column, instead of waiting 
for Gen. McClernand's movement on Vicksburg. This I get 
from Colonel DeCourcey, and, as you know, I formerly 
complained of his manner of doing things — not of the 
thing done — I will state what occurred this evening. We 
met on an abandoned camping-ground, where there was 
much loose old lumber, and 1 was bargaining with the owner 






LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 141 

for enough of it to floor my tent and make bunks, when 
he stepped to me and whispered not to expend money 
for such a purpose, as he was expecting marching orders 
momentarily. It displayed consideration for the pecuni- 
ary condition of his command, to say the least, and took 
me quite by surprise. 

During the few minutes I spent in the city I asked a 
citizen about the former status of J. W. Coleman, and was 
glad to learn that he ranked high as a young man of 
much promise, and that he was the very last man of any 
note in the city to give in his adhesion to rebeldom. I 
can't censure him so very much when I find the pressure, 
political and social, that was brought to bear on him. 
Peace be to his ashes. 

I don't hear from you, having received no letter from 
home since I left Charleston, W. Va. 

Much love to all, with kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



Memphis, Tennessee, Dec. 6, 1862. 

Dear Daughter, — I received, two days since, your letter 
containing Cora's photograph, and yesterday your mother's 
of the 25th November came to hand. I respond briefly 
and at once to both, and I must be brief, as my official 
duties here engross most of my time. 

Memphis, before the rebellion, had the prospect of a 
brilliant future, but the war has driven away at least half 
her former resident population, who were among the most 
pestilent dis-unionists in all the land. For so recent a 
town, it has some very fine houses. Two of the hotels 
equal in style, dimensions, and magnificence of internal 
arrangements, the Burnet and Spencer 'Houses of Cincin- 
nati. 

I still think we will soon go to General Grant's column, 



H2 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

as we draw teams and wagons to-morrow, and that is satis- 
factory evidence to my mind that we will leave the line of 
the river. I have, however, been so often mistaken in 
my surmises that I won't speculate much. Very heavy 
bodies of troops are daily arriving at this point, and are 
hurried forward to General Grant. I suppose we also 
would have taken that direction before this time had we 
not, at Gallipolis, surrendered our wagons and teams, and 
when we reached here none could be furnished us. 

I have been so unfortunate as to lose my little mare. 
She escaped during a rain and thunder-storm on the morn- 
ing of the first. Many horses were lost here at the same 
time. Dr. Brashear lost two; his assistant a fine, high- 
priced one, and the chaplain of the 16th Ohio his. I have 
offered a reward of twenty five dollars for the return of 
mine again, but do not expect ever to see her more. 

I received two days since a letter from Delia, written at 
Eminence, Kentucky, and will write to her soon, if I ever 
again get in letter- writing trim; now I feel entirely out of 
it, and only write from a sense of duty, and send this mis- 
erable apology for a letter. 

Love to all, with many kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



Memphis, Tennessee, Dec. 8, 1862. 

Dear Delia, — Your letter of 17th November, addressed 
to me at Charleston, West Virginia, reached that point 
after the regiment left there, and then, doubling on its 
track, pursued and caught up with me here day before 
yesterday. 

However much I may flatter my self-love in reading, 
your anxiously expressed wishes for my personal safety, 
my better judgment tells me they are all misplaced. I 






LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 143 

hope, in any event, you will not cultivate emotional indul- 
gences, which will only mar your future happiness. 

I would be glad to have a quiet hour's chat with you 
beside your cheerful winter's fire-side, and recount to you 
all I have seen and heard, connected with my wanderings, 
since we parted in April last, at Georgetown. The expe- 
dition to Cumberland Gap was then the engrossing topic 
of conversation, and I expressed to you my hopes of a 
triumphant result. It was taken, and, at the time, all 
were sanguine that its occupation by national troops would 
aid much in arresting the unnatural strife rebellion has 
forced on the country. But now, when time has tested re- 
sults, I am compelled to say the expedition was an unwise 
use of the resources of the nation, and further, that the 
rebellion could have been more vitally touched by a judi- 
cious concentration of the national armies against the im- 
portant strategic points in the rebel states. 

The papers of the day told all, and more than all, of 
our hardships after the abandonment of the Gap, and the 
retreat across the mountain region of eastern Kentucky. 
The bare truth was bad enough. Ten thousand men 
marched for ten days, subsisting during that period on 
corn plucked from fields on the road-side, and grated into 
meal on extemporized graters, made by punching holes 
through the ordinary tin plate supplied to the army. The 
boys, however, made a frolic of it, and went through 
cheerfully. 

There were many amusing incidents on the retreat 
which will keep for a future occasion, but one I will give 
you now. When the Quartermaster's stores at the Gap 
were thrown open to general pillage, the day before the 
abandonment, a long-legged, long-armed, stalwart young 
fellow of my regiment thrust himself into a suit of clothes 
every way too small for him. He displayed half his legs 
naked below his nether garments, and won from the boys 



144 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

the sobriquet of "Legs." His understandings passed the 
utmost limits of the law, and he we X through the entire 
retreat with the "bare-foot brigade; " his bleeding feet left 
their trail all alone; our rugged road. He opened his 
knapsack at my quarters the day we reached the Ohio 
River, and the first articles presented to view were a 
blacking-brush and a box of paste blacking. Some officer 
had thrown them away at the Gap, and he ap ropriated 
the prize, and carried it through a retreat of two hundred 
and thirty miles. To me the incident, with its associations 
and surroundings — his bare feet and naked ltgs — was ludi- 
crous in the extreme. 

Memphis, before the rebellion, had a brilliant prospect 
looming up before it. It is most admirably situated for 
becoming in the future the emporium foT all the leading 
products of the central Mississippi a alley. But if the 
country should most unfortunately be permanently rent 
in twain, some future antiquary will rank the present with 
another Memphis of the de.id and buried past. 

Near the center of the city is a well preserved park of 
ten or twelve acres, studded with native forest trees, and 
all alive with squirrels, tame as domestic cats. I am fond 
of spending an hour in th"ir company on sunny after- 
noons, and pleased to have them search through my pock- 
ets for nuts. 

In the park stands a marble monument of President 
Jackson, with his immortal Fourth of July sentiment, ' ' The 
Federal Union: it must be preserved." Some vandal at- 
tempted to " raze out the written record," but the ghost of 
the stern old hero rose up before the barbarian and fright- 
ened him from the half accomplished purpose. Would to 
God he could return in bodily presence and drive the 
worse vandals from the more unholy attempt to destroy 
the national life. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 145 

Give my love to your ma and grandma and regards to 
friends. Yours truly, 



Memphis, Tennessee, Dec. 9, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — I received day before yesterday your last, 
and at the same time two letters from you and one from 
Kate, written in August, whilst I was at the Gap. 

Since I last wrote I have seen more of Memphis, and I 
must say that here is the beginning of a city, the growth of 
which requires only the folly and madness of man to arrest. 
It is situated on a great plain, above any floods that have 
as yet occurred, and it spreads over a vast territory, and if 
the town ever fills to its present corporate limits, it will 
contain a great population. But for the rebellion, it would 
have been one of the termini of the great Pacific railroad. 

There are extensive fortresses here commanding both 
river and town. The rebels constructed the river fronts 
and our forces those bearing on the town. Not less than 
fifty guns, in point blank range, are all the time with their 
huge gaping mouths in position, thus giving evil disposed 
citizens warning of the fearful doom which awaits them in 
the event of their renewing any of their treasonable prac- 
tices. To semi-rebels this seems tyrannical, but verily the 
time of retribution has come sooner than sympathizers ex- 
pected, and they will be held to obedience to the govern- 
ment through all time. 

With the Mississippi River controlled by the government, 
the rebellion is a failure, and only the pur-blind who do 
not want to see fail to see it. I would that the rebels of 
Kentucky could be made to understand this, as they must 
know the government will not, can not, let go its hold on 
the river. 

In reference to future movements I have only to repeat 
what I previously said. We have drawn wagons and mules, 



146 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

and I think we will soon go to Grant's column. Fresh 
troops are daily arriving and swelling the large numbers 
already here. If the statements of the papers be true that 
Grant is driving the rebels before him, he may get in the 
rear of Vicksburg, and thus compel the evacuation of that 
stronghold. In such an event we may be sent still further 
South, perhaps to Texas. This is only my surmise. 

Yon may feel some interest in knowing the cost of Jiving 
here. Flour, fifteen dollars per barrel ; potatoes, two dol- 
lars per bushel; butter, fifty cents per pound; sugar, tea, 
and coffee, about as with you; wood, twelve to fifieen dol- 
lars per cord. House rents 1 have not enquired after, as I 
don't wish just now to settle here. Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



Memphis, Tennessee, Dec. 17, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — I have not heard from you for some days, 
nor have I been as prompt as heretofore in writing, tho' I 
am ahead of both you and Kate so far as numbers are 
concerned. 

There seems quite as much uncertainty about letters 
here as at other points. Government is pressing all the 
boats on the river preparatory to the grand demonstration 
in clearing die "Father of Waters" from rebel obstruc- 
tions to its free navigation. The expedition from this 
point will require sixty steamers and as many barges. 
This statement will give you a better idea of the magni- 
tude of the force to be employed than any thing else I 
can say. 

On Sunday mght last, one of the severest rain storms 
I have ever witnessed set in. 

" The wind blew as 'twad blawn its last." 

The windows of heaven were opened and a deluge of 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 147 

water poured down all night long. This time I was lucky 
enough to have my tent-pins well secured, but the light 
duck, of which all recent tents are made, permitted the 
water to run through like a sieve, and the morning found 
my bedding and blankets well soaked with water, nor was 
I able to dry them until Tuesday, as it continued to rain 
all Monday, during which day Dr. Brashear and myself 
were riding from camp to camp of Gen. Morgan's division 
examining sick men and directing who should be sent to 
hospital. 

Gen. Morgan's division ; fourteen regiments of Infantry 
and two batteries of Artillery were reviewed by Gen. Sher- 
man yesterday. I was not permitted to see much of the 
display, as the medical board of which I am a member, 
did not finish its labors of the day until night, but in the 
discharge of our duties we passed along the line of review, 
and the roar of cannon kept us from eleven in the morn- 
ing until sunset in mind of what was going on. Sherman 
was pleased and praised brigades, regiments, and batteries, 
and they in return cheered him, most lustily. Now don't 
turn up your nose and say, " Come tickle me and I'll 
tickle you." We have news here to-day that the rebels 
are in Kentucky again, near Richmond, and that Lexing- 
ton is in danger of re-occupation by them. There will not, 
there cannot, be a permanent occupation of the state by 
rebels, and if disloyal " Blue Grass" will not rise and expel 
the marauders from their midst, I hope Blue Grass may be 
ploughed and harrowed and harvested by them. 

We now understand that Gen. Sherman will command 
the expedition, which will leave here on Sunday or Mon- 
day next, and I trust, go when or where we may, it will 
be to an assured success. 

Since the storm the heavens have cleared up most beau- 
tifully, and now the cool, bracing atmosphere is all that a 
man can ask in winter, though the nights pinch a little. 



148 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

My health is all right now. Love to all, with many kisses 
to the children. 

Yours truly, 



Memphis, Tennessee, Dec. 19, 1862. 

Dear Wife, — It is now eight and a half p. m and I have 
time for only a short note. We have for some days been 
expecting orders to move, and after dark this evening 
they came to pack every thing and load in wagons to-night, 
except our tents, and to be ready to strike them at six in 
the morning. 

I received last night your letter detailing your troubles 
about my deposit with Gilmore & Co. In a previous letter 
I suggested to you the propriety of withdrawing the sum 
from them and depositing with the Covington bank. The 
latter receive Manfred's on the ground of his having been 
an old depositor, and you can justly make the same claim 
for me. The other matters mentioned by you I leave to 
your own judgment. I am not in a position to advise safely. 

On one point I hope you will pardon me a word or two. 
Be as prudent and economical as you possibly can with due 
regard to your comfort. Don't misunderstand me. I do 
not mean to imply that you are prodigal — very far from it, 
but after the close of the war a period of pecuniary pressure 
will be felt all over the land, and if we can so manage as 
to save a little it will be very convenient. 

I have bought another horse, and a good one at that, at 
a cost of one hundred and fifty dollars. He is regarded as 
cheap, and I could get an advance of twenty or thirty dol- 
lars on him immediately if disposed to part with him. 

I had written the above when a Lieutenant of one of the 
Ohio regiments paid me the doubtful compliment of calling 
me half a mile to the suburbs of the city to see him at a 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 149 

private house. I was met at the door by the lady of the 
house, and received so courteously, indeed, so cordially, 
that I almost fancied her a Union woman, but appearances 
are deceptive. She happens to be ihe only woman (ex- 
cept Mrs. Brashear) to whom I have spoken since reaching 
Memphis. Don't you fear that I will relapse into barba- 
rism ? I sometimes fear it myself. 

I suppose we will reach the neighborhood of Vicksburg 
on Monday next. Our men are ordered to have three 
days' cooked rations in haversack. The distance is some 
three hundred miles. Our fleet will be convoyed by the 
gun boats, and I presume we will witness some shellii g on 
the way. 

I do not regret leaving Memphis. Whilst it is a place 
with the promise of a great future, 1 do not fancy it. The 
mere fact that in a stay of over three weeks I have not met 
an acquaintance, nor entered a private lr use, except the 
one mentioned above, may have some influence on my 
feelings. 

Love to all, with kisses to the children and regards to 
enquiring friends. And now to bed. 

Yours truly, 



Steamboat Crescent City, off Helena, Arkansas, | 

Dec. 21, 1862. \ 
Dear Daughter, — All the troops at Memphis under 
command of G n. Sherman embarked on steamboats last 
evening and reached this point during the night, where we 
have been lying at anchor since sunrise. The <tay is beau- 
tiful and balmy as May in your latitude, but it looks like 
any thing else than a day of rest. In view is such an array 
of steamboats as I have never before seen at one glance, 
and all of them are crowded with men-* and horses, and 
mules, and implements and munitions of war and subsis- 



150 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

tence stores to their utmost capacity. I know nothing of 
the cause of our detention, but suppose it to be to perfect 
arrangements for our debarkation. 

One of the features in the panorama before us, of inter- 
est to me, is the passing and repassing of the gunboats. I 
have seen them before, but not in such close proximity. 
They look more like huge floating turtles than anything 
else I can liken them to, and I can't but think that un- 
sightly, amphibious creature suggested their construction. 

The river on both sides for a mile above Helena is alive 
with troops; whence they come and where they go I don't 
know, but suppose most of them will engage in our expedi- 
tion. From all I can learn I judge our destination to be 
the immediate neighborhood of Vicksburg, and I under- 
stand a united demonstration by the land forces and by the 
gun and mortar boats will be made, and if successful, the 
confederacy will be rent permanently in twain. God grant 
a speedy and effectual accomplishment of this purpose, and 
an early return to our homes. 

We have rumors of the repulse of General Burnside, at 
Fredricksburg, Virginia, but I have seen no paper confirm- 
ing it. For a day or two before we left Memphis we re- 
ceived no papers from the North, and the city papers only 
mentioned the matter as rumor; but the knowledge 
that the administration suppressed information after McClel- 
lan's disasters, makes me fear the same thing now when all 
authentic news is cut off. I will try to wait with patience 
the developments of the future. 

I had quite a compliment paid to my be-bearded, be- 
whiskered face on the streets of Memphis yesterday. Whilst 
walking on the main street of the city I met a couple of 
ladies, whose rotund figures and linsey-woolsey gowns 
proclaimed them from the country. Just as I was passing 
them one of our soldier boys asked a citizen where a barber 



LETTERS FR OM THE ARMY. 1 5 1 

could be found, whereupon one of the ladies responded 
and pointing to me said, " Thar's a man what wants a bar- 
ber." The tone of voice together with the manner made 
it very amusing to me. 

I sent one day last week a short letter to the Cincinnati 
Gazette over my old cognomen of "Medico," which you 
probably would have been able to assign to its proper pater- 
nity without this acknowledgment. In it I mentioned favor- 
ably, but briefly, Col. Lindsey. He has been made acting 
Brigadier General, and in conformity to policy he is sepa- 
rated from his own regiment. I hate the appearance of 
sycophancy so much that so long as he retained command 
of the regiment I carefully abstained from saying a word 
about him in my communications to that paper. I have to 
say now that he has been less noticed by the press than 
any man of his abilities I know in the service, and I have 
further to say that he has always displayed in his intercourse 
with subordinates the kindness and courtesy of a gentleman. 

The magnitude and grandeur of the " Father of Waters" 
grows and grows still more on one's imagination the longer 
he floats on its bosom. It is as Mr. Calhoun truly called 
it, " Our great internal sea." 

Tuesday Morning, 23d. 

We are this morning two miles above Napoleon, Arkan- 
sas, where we lay most of the night, and this morning the 
fleet is changing front, those boats which have been in the 
rear now taking the advance. Our division having occu- 
pied the central position, I have a fine opportunity to wit- 
ness the number of our forces, and at the same time see a 
grand exhibition of the Nation's fresh water naval power. 

Remember me kindly to your grandfather's family. Love 
to all, with kisses to the young "uns." 
Yours truly, 



152 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

CHICKASAW BLUFFS. 

Steamboat "Crescent City," Jan. 8, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — I wrote to you on the 25th December, on 
our way down the river. Since that time important events 
have transpired, of which you will probably have seen ac- 
counts in the public papers before this reaches }ou. I 
would have written sooner, but my time has been so 
wholly engrossed with my official duties that I could not 
do so. I give you, after a fashion, a running commentary 
of events as they occurred. 

The fleet reached the mouth of the Yazoo River on the 
25th, and proceeded up that stream twelve miles. Here 
the troops were debarked, near some earth works which 
guarded the approaches to Vicksburg from its rear. The 
range of hills on which the works are constructed are 
known here as the "Chickasaw Bluffs. " I ought to pre- 
mise that our expedition was intended to co-operate with the 
forces under General Grant, who was expected up from 
the landward side in time for joint action. Banks was 
also expected to lend some aid from below. You must 
understand I only give camp rumors. Grant and Banks 
failed to come to time, and General Sherman determined 
to feel the strength of the enemy and ascertain his posi- 
tion, unsupported as he was. My opinion then was, and 
now is, that, with the force under his command, he was 
fully justified in so doing. 

On the 26th DeCourcey's brigade marched two miles in 
the direction of the enemy's works, and had some skir- 
mishing with rebel pickets, and exchanged a few rounds of 
cannon shot, without results on either side; and, afier one 
or two hours, withdrew to the boats again. On the 27th 
all the troops were ordered out, but did not reach the field 
in time for any effective work before night, our brigade in 
advance. At four o'clock, as the 22d was marching in 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 153 

column through an open field, flanked on our left by a 
narrow but deep bayou, with forest and dense jungle be- 
yond, a well-directed fire was opened on us by rebel skir- 
mishers, the first round killing one man and wounding ten 
others severely. Our column was at once deployed into 
line, and a sharp action was commenced, and kept up un- 
til the artillery drove the enemy from their ambuscade. 
The cannonading ceased at sundown, and our troops 
bivouacked on the field for the night. 

Having one amputation to perform, and numerous 
wounds of less gravity to dress, my position was in the 
rear and under shelter. On the 28th the battle re-opened 
at seven a. m. in serious earnest, and such a continuous 
roar of artillery and roll of small arms, as was kept up 
throughout the day, from right to left, I had not before 
heard. The casualties of the day gave surgeons ample 
work to occupy all their time, and to test their utmost 
strength and fortitude. Men were brought in wounded in 
every imaginable form — in limbs, abdomen, chest, head, 
arms, hands, etc. 

In the afternoon I aided Surgeon Pomerene, of the 42d 
Ohio, in the exsection at the elbow joint of one of his 
men ; and then he aided me in the amputation of the left 
arm, at the shoulder, of Henry Valance, of Company C, 
22d Kentucky. 

During the day the rebels were driven through a dense 
forest over half a mile, and, during the succeeding night, 
a bayou was bridged which separated the opposing hosts. 
I should remark that throughout both nights, 27th and 
28th, rain poured down unceasingly, during all of which 
time our boys were sleeping on their arms or digging 
trenches, which labor was performed by reliefs of one-half 
the regiment every second hour. These operations were 
occasionally interfered with by the enemy dropping a shell 



154 LEI TERS FR OM THE A RMY. 

or shot in the midst of our boys, as they were now fully 
and fairly in range of the rebel batteries. 

On the morning of the 29th the order to assault at noon 
was given, and the central portion of the rebel works 
assigned to Gen. Morgan's division, and, as I think, without 
due consideration for the exhausted condition of the men. 
They had been engaged, without intermission, for forty 
hours, fighting or working ; they had endured two nights 
of cold drenching rain; they had been badly fed, and 
many of the men were sick. 

They went in with alacrity, and came out with untar- 
nished honor, but repulsed and terribly cut up. The dis- 
tance was greater than anticipated, and the obstructions 
very much more than had been counted on. They had a 
space of full half a mile to pass over, covered with fallen 
timber; they had a bayou, or ravine, deep in mud and 
water, to wade through. All these difficulties were sur- 
mounted, and the open grounds immediately in front of 
the works reached and occupied, when a concentric fire 
from an array of masked batteries was opened on our fa- 
tigued and exhausted men, before which it was impossible 
for any troops to stand or advance, The force fell back 
in good order, bringing with them most of our wounded. 

What has been the total loss in killed, wounded, and 
missing, I have no means of knowing; nor do I know the 
losses in our brigade. The 22d went into action with 
about 400 bayonets, and came out with eighty three killed 
and wounded, and twenty-nine missing. Among our killed 
are two captains — Garrard, of Frankfort, and Hegan, of 
Louisville, both much valued and much regretted.* 

After the repulse the forces re-embarked, and the boats 
dropped down the Yazoo, and have been ascending the 
Mississippi at the rate of fifteen miles a day. 

We are lying to-night at the mouth of the White River, 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 155 

in Arkansas, and have orders to be in readiness to debark 
early to-morrow morning. 

I have never undergone a week of as much anxiety and 
fatigue as the last. During the three battle days I was on 
my feet eighteen or twenty hours each day, and my legs 
have not yet rested sufficiently. Very many men have 
sickened, and thus my labors have but little intermission. 

I fear you will think I have written you a miserable 
letter, but situated as I am, without any privacy, in the 
social hall of the boat, filled to its utmost capacity, and 
surrounded by the noisiest crowd of profane-swearing, 
dram-drinking, card-playing, song-singing, reckless, impu- 
dent, dare-devils in the world, it is the very best I could 
^ * * * * Love to all, with kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



*The 22nd was numerically the weakest regiment in the brigade. 
The young blood of Kentucky was poured out on both sides in 
this most unfortunate contest. 

A MOOTED POINT. 

GENERALS, LIKE DOCTORS, DO SOMETIMES DISAGREE. 

Extract from General Morgan's report : "It is worthy 
of note that DeCourcey's entire brigade brought back their 
colors, though the flag of the 16th Ohio was shot to tatters, 
only shreds remaining on the staff, and the flag of the 22d 
Kentucky was scarcely less torn, and not less dripping 
with blood. 

"Lieutenant Colonel Monroe, 22d Kentucky, was 
struck down at the head of his regiment." 

Extract from Colonel DeCourcey's report, commanding 
brigade: "Notwithstanding the destructive fire from all 
sides, which kept mowing down the ranks of the 16th 
Ohio, 22d Kentucky, and 54th Indiana, the brave men com- 



156 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

posing those corps had nearly crossed the large open space 
of nearly half a mile, which lay stretched out before them, 
glacis fashion, when the enemy increased his fire of small 
arms and grape to such a degree as to render a further ad- 
vance impossible. * * * * The 22d Kentucky was 
under the orders of Lieutenant-Colonel G. W. Monroe, 
who was wounded early in the charge. His wound not 
being a serious one, I hope the valuable services of this 
officer will soon be available. The regiment was brought 
out of action by Major W. J. Worthington." 

Greenup, Kentucky, March 5, 1884. 

My Dear Doctor, — Your favor of 29th ultimo received, 
and contents considered. Some years ago General Lind- 
sey called my attention to General Sherman's remarks 
upon our brigade at Chickasaw Bluffs. I have been looking 
for a copy of my reply to him, but can not now lay my 
hands on it. My recollection, however, is very vivid in 
regard to the whole affair. The topography of the coun- 
try, in fact all the incidents pertaining to that disastrous 
and ill-advised attack are too deeply impressed upon my 
mind ever to be forgotten. 

As regards the lay of the country, you will recollect that, 
as we advanced from the river, in the direction of the en- 
emy's works, there was on our left a bayou with a low 
levee, serving to protect the arable land from overflow. 

We, on going out, passed through cultivated land, not 
striking the levee until near the Lake House, where we 
were fired on (22d) in column and in front. All the land 
on our right and front in the neighborhood of the Lake 
House, up to where our batteries were posted in the woods, 
was at that time dry land. There was between the house 
and the woods where the batteries were posted, a swale or 
dry lagoon, having but little water in it. The night previ- 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 157 

ous to the assault Captain Patterson, of the Pioneer Corps, 
with some four companies of the 22d Kentucky, was sent 
forward to dig some rifle pits, just in the edge of the 
woods, and adjoining the down timber which lay in our 
front, and between us and the enemy's works, over and 
through which we had to pass in the attack; and also to 
pontoon the bayou, which lay in our immediate front. 
This being accomplished, the guard accompanying him 
was retired to the edge of the woods, where the rifle pits 
were constructed, and the rest of the brigade brought up 
in the early morning, where we remained until the assault 
was delivered. 

This position brought us in fair view of the enemy's 
works, and resulted in a brisk fire from their batteries 
all the forenoon. I was talking to General DeCourcey at 
the time he read the order to advance. The men were 
ordered to fall in, which they did in columns of company, 
in which position they remained for some time. De- 
Courcey directed me to go among the men and counsel 
them to keep cool, and advance rapidly when the order 
was given, and if compelled to fall back, to do so lei- 
surely, and preserve our organization, so as to be ready to 
defend ourselves against any attack of cavalry, adding at 
the same time that the assault was ill-advised, and that it 
would prove disastrous, but not to let the men have any 
other idea than that of victory. When the advance was 
ordered we moved up and passed the pontoon above re- 
ferred to, and formed line of battle on the edge of the 
bayou, in the fallen timber, being subjected to a heavy 
fire all the time from the enemy's batteries; but, fortu- 
nately for us, they fired too high to do much harm. The 
line being formed, the advance was commenced, all in full 
view of the enemy's works, which were constructed along 
the foot of the hills in a semi-circular form, and from 



158 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

which there burst forth an almost unbroken sheet of flame 
as we commenced to advance. Our line of march led us 
directly into the field, half-way encircled by their works, 
withoqt cover or shelter of any kind. The brigade moved 
forward rapidly and in good order until we reached the 
bayou to which, I presume, General Sherman refers, and 
says we safely crossed. This is a mistake, and an unpar- 
donable one in the General commanding, in more ways 
than one ; for, in the first place, he should have had the 
ground reconnoitred over which his troops had to pass in 
so perilous and hazardous an assault, so as to ascertain 
whether they would meet with an impassable barrier, im- 
mediately in the face of the enemy's batteries and rifle pits; 
in the second place, if he has ever looked (since the en- 
gagement) at the ground the brigade passed over in its 
advance, he knows that the bayou lay right across their 
line of march, and was impassable (and at the time of the 
attack its very existence was unknown to the General com- 
manding, or to any of his subordinates), and covered al- 
most its entire front, being from thirty to forty yards wide, 
and from ten to fifteen feet in depth. 

When the command struck the bayou it was temporarily 
checked. General DeCourcey was on the right center 
of the command at the time, and was so situated that he 
could not see how far the water extended to the left. He 
was much chagrined at this unexpected obstruction, and 
asked to have some one carry a note to General Morgan. 
No one coming forward, I proffered to carry it for him. 
He replied, "No! Major, no! I will get some one else," 
and commenced to write. Just at this moment a com- 
mand, or word of command, was passed up the line, to 
move by the left flank. The General repeated the com- 
mand in a loud tone of voice, and started down the line, 
I accompanying him, and both going faster than the line 
could move in ranks. We passed down, or to the left, for 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 159 

about 150 or 200 yards, where we reached the end of the 
water, showing it to be a pond, where we passed around 
the pond, wading through deep mud and over some logs that 
had been used as a bridge, the men following as fast as 
they could, and forming, or attempting to form, on the 
plateau, just in front of the enemy's guns, and under a 
most destructive fire, continuing to advance all the time, 
not a single man stopping to take shelter under the bank, 
as stated by the General ; and, furthermore, there was not 
a single position occupied, or passed over by the brigade 
from the time the line of battle was formed, either in ad- 
advancing or falling back, where it could have been 
screened for a moment from the enemy's fire, but it was in 
fair view and direct range all the time. In order to have 
availed ourselves of the shelter afforded by the bank on 
the opposite side of the bayou, we would have been 
obliged to do what the General says we did (but what we 
did not do), that is, cross the bayou. Instead of cross- 
ing, as before stated, we moved to the left, and around the 
water, leaving us all the time in plain view and easy range 
of the enemy's guns. 

The bridge on which we crossed, I think, was con- 
structed by the enemy. The battle proper lasted but a 
short time, concentrated as our troops were in the small 
space of ground in front of the enemy's guns, dealing 
destruction at every volley. General Sherman should 
remember the old Grecian adage, "That he that has made 
no mistakes has not been engaged in the military ser- 
vice long." The General, having been engaged for some 
time in the business, must of necessity, according to this 
maxim, have made some mistakes, and this is probably the 
most flagrant and palpable one of them all. However, a 
scape-goat or an excuse must be had, and the consequence 
is that our brigade has to suffer, and, I must say, very un- 



160 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

justly, as no men ever behaved better under the circum- 
stances than did DeCourcey's. 

I trust you may be successful in your laudable endeavor 
to have justice done. 

Yours truly, 

WM. J. WORTHINGTON. 



Visalia, Kenton County, Kentucky, \ 
Feb. 10, 1884. j 

Dr. B. B. Brashear, 

Akron, Ohio. 
Dear Doctor, — During the afternoon of the 29th Decem- 
ber, 1862, after the assault of that day at Chickasaw 
Bluffs, a soldier of the 16th Ohio made his way to my 
hospital, complaining of great pain in his face, and asked 
very earnestly to have his wound examined. I did so at 
once, and with much trouble removed from under the 
malar bone the dial plate of a shell. The plate had on it 
the stiletto marks made by the officer in charge of the gun. 
If the man is still living and has preserved the plate, I 
think it will aid me very much in establishing the fact that 
our brigade was close up to the enemy's works before they 
were driven back. If you can secure the plate for me you 
will confer on me a great favor. 
Yours truly, 

B. F. STEVENSON. 



Akron, Summit County, Ohio, ) 

Feb. 25, 1884. j 

My Dear Doctor, — It gives me the greatest pleasure to 

say that your late letters have been duly received. * * * 

* * * Jonathan Wright, private of Co. E, 16th 

Ohio, is the man from whose face you removed the dial 






LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 161 

plate of a shell at Chickasaw Bluffs on the 29th of Decem- 
ber, 1862. He lives at Killbuck, Holmes County, Ohio. 
I have written to him, and requested him to send the plate 
to me for your temporary use. F. D. Wolbach, who pho- 
tographed the plate some time since, kindly sends the 
photo to you. He thinks Wright prizes the plate so highly 
he will not consent to part with it. We shall see. 
Yours truly, 

B. B. BRASHEAR. 



Killbuck, Holmes County, Ohio, ) 
Feb. 26, 1884. j 

Dr. B. B. Brashear, 

Akron, Ohio. 
My Dear Friend, — It was with pleasure that I received 
your kind letter. I have never forgotten you, and never 
will forget you, nor Mother Brashear. * * * Doctor, it 
is with pleasure I grant your request for the benefit of Dr. 
Stevenson. Had any one but you asked for the plate I 
would have studied some before sending it, but I will for- 
ward it with this letter to-morrow. 

Yours in friendship, 

J. W. WRIGHT. 



Return of Casualties in the United States Forces at the Bat- 
tle of Chickasaw Bluffs, Miss., Dec. 27-29, 1862. 



(Compiled from nominal list of ( 


:asual 


ties, returns 


, &c.) 








Killed. 


Wounded. 


Captured 


© 


COMMAND. 










or Missing 


M 


Offi- 
cers. 


En- 
listed 


Offi- 
cers. 


En- 
listed 


Offi- 
cers. 


En- 
listed 


to 

to 






Men. 




Men. 




Men. 


< 


General Officers 






1 










3 Illinois Cavalry 


.... 






1 


2 






3 


13 Illinois Infantry 




3 


24 


8 


99 


2 


37 


173 


55 " " 




1 


1 


1 


3 




2 


8 


116 " 










5 






5 


127 






1 


2 


3 






6 


16 Indiana " 










1 






1 


49 




1 


5 




32 




18 


56 


54 






17 


10 


102 


3 


132 


264 


67 






1 










1 


69 










11 




2 


13 


83. 




1 


3 


2 


13 






19 


4 Iowa s< 




1 


6 


4 


101 






112 


9 " 










6 




2 


8 


25 " 






1 




7 




2 


10 


30 " 










4 






4 


31 " 










2 






2 


7 Kentucky Infantry .... 


1 


4 




6 




3 


14 


22 " . . . . 


3 


6 


5 


67 




26 


107 


Mich. Light Artillery, 7 Battery 






1 


10 






11 


6 Missouri Cavalry .... 




2 




2 




2 


6 


3 " Infantry .... 








2 






2 


6 " .... 


1 


13 


1 


42 






57 


8 " .... 








3 






3 


12 " « .... 




2 




4 






6 


17 " .... 




3 




6 






9 


29 " " .... 


2 


17 


4 


66 


4 


57 


150 


31 " .... 




17 


10 


62 


2 


60 


151 


32 '* .... 








2 






2 


Ohio Light Artillery, 4 Battery. 








2 






2 


16 Ohio Infantry 




16 


4 


97 


12 


182 


311 


42 " 






6 




36 






42 


54 " " . 






4 


3 


10 




2 


19 


57 " 




1 






2 




2 


5 


58 " 




3 


33 


7 


71 


2 


9 


125 


114 <« 




1 


5 


1 


29 






36 


120 " " . . 










16 






16 


Wis. Light Artillery, 1 Battery. 




1 




2 






3 


13 U. S. Infantry, 1 Battalion. 




1 




12 






13 




Total 


19 


189 


65 


940 


25 


538 


1776 



Total troops embarked at Memphi 

Steel's division 

Total . . 



20,523 
9,552 



30,075 



Rebel loss at Chickasaw . 



8 | 49 [ 111 109 | 



10 1 187 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 163 

Washington, D. C, March 10, 1884. 
Dear Doctor, — The nominal lists of casualties in the 
regimental records of the 22d Kentucky corroborate the 
statement herewith sent you. * * * 

It is possible that many of the wounded died. We in- 
clude in the column of killed only those who died between 
dates mentioned, 27th to 29th. 

DeCourcey's loss was 724 ; Blair's, 599. The excess in 
DeCourcey's, 125. I think you will find this satisfactory. 
I know it is official, as it is a copy of the record as it will 
appear in the government print.* 
Yours truly, 

G. C. KNIFFIN. 

* In the assault at Chickasaw the 16th Ohio had the lead, and 
took into action over seven hundred bayonets, and lost almost half 
its force, with Lieut. -Col. Phil. Kerschner severely wounded and 
captured. The 22d was next, with about four hundred bayonets, 
and lost more than one-fourth of its force, with Lieut. -Col. Monroe 
wounded; and the 54th Indiana came next, after the 22d, and en- 
countering a loss also of more than one-fourth of its force in action. 
The 42d Ohio was held in reserve, and encountered only slight 
loss. 

Cincinnati, March 14, 1884. 
Dr, B. F. Stevenson, 

Visaha, Kentucky. 
Dear Sir, — That dial is from what is called a spherical 
case shell. That is a large cast iron shell filled with pow- 
der and small lead or iron balls. 

A. HICKENLOOPER. 

Visalia, Kenton County, Kentucky, | 
March 13, 1884. j 

Capt. Wm. F. Patterson, 

Bnena Vista, Ohio. 
Dear Captain, — On the evening of the 29th of Decern- 



1 64 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

ber, 1862, you called on me at the Lake House, and learn- 
ing that I had in the afternoon removed the dial plate of 
a shell from the face of a 16th Ohio soldier, you asked to 
see it, and when it was shown to you, you immediately 
directed my attention to some stiletto marks on it that had 
escaped my observation. You said they proved that our 
troops were close up to the enemy's works before they were 
driven back. If you can recall the incident, and give me 
the figures you will confer on me a great favor. Tell me 
all you know about gunnery, projectiles, fuses, etc. Please 
answer at your earliest leisure, and accept for yourself and 
family my regards. 

Very truly, 

B. F. STEVENSON. 



Buena Vista, Ohio, March 17, 1884. 

Dear Doctor, — Your letter and card received. By 
order of General Morgan I overhauled the ammunition 
at Cumberland Gap in 1862. Great complaint was made 
by Captain Foster — Chief of Artillery at that post — of the 
uncertainty of the percussion fuse for the Parrot shell for 
his battery. 

Only about 20 per cent, would explode on contact. I 
worked upon it until I had an entire new fuse, for which 
I received a patent. With this his failures were not 20 
per cent. 

The time fuse is a different thing, exploding so many 
seconds after leaving the gun, and that determined by the 
gunner, who cuts the fuse to suit the distance he may de- 
sire the shell to run before the explosion. The time is 
now a matter of tables to which you ought to refer for 
accuracy. 

With our Parrots we elevated the gun about 15 degrees 
and I think about fifteen seconds for two miles. * * * 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 165 

You are right in your conclusion that the fuse plate 
would indicate the distance where it was intended to do 
its work. I hope this will answer your purpose, although 
I can not recall your drawing my attention to the plate. I 
was in die hospital that night at the Lake House, but my 
attention was so taken up with the man on the table and 
those on the floor, for whom you said nothing could be 
done, that other and minor matters have escaped my 
memory. Yours truly, 

WM. F. PATTERSON. 



Cincinnati, Ohio, March 29, 1884. 
I have this day carefully examined the dial plate of a 
spherical case shell shown to me by Dr. B. F. Stevenson, 
and on the triangular plane on the left base of the dial I 
find a long oblique burin or stiletto mark very visible to 
the naked eye, and on the right hand side of said mark 
with the aid of a magnifying glass, I find also, in faint 
lines a figure 4 ; on the left hand side of said mark I 
find the semblance of figuring, but without sufficient dis- 
tinctness to say certainly what was designed. My pro- 
fession is that of a wood-engraver, and I am now making 
an engraving from the dial plate. 

H. W. WEISBRODT, 

Engraver. 



1 66 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 




[The engraving above is from the dial plate removed by me 
from the face of Jonathan Wright, December 29, 1862. When 
the engraver found the figure 4, as he states, I ordered the figure 
3 to its proper position. This fractional number corresponds 
with my clear and distinct recollection of the dial before friction 
rubbed out the figure 3. 

And now, taking Captain Patterson's statement as a postulate 
by which to determine the proximate distance of the above- 
named soldier from the battery when he was wounded, I fix it at 
177 yards. This distance may not be exact, but it is sufficiently 
so to repel the assertion that his regiment and brigade ''took to 
cover, and could not be moved forward." — B. F. Stevenson.] 

General Sherman, in his official report of operations, 
commended the gallantry of all the troops engaged. 
Twelve years later, when preparing his memoirs for publi- 
cation, 

"A change came o'er the spirit of his dream," 

and then others must be made to bear the brunt of cen- 
sure, or share with him the responsibility of failure. In 
his memoirs, page 290, he says: " We skirmished, on the 
27th, up to the main bayou that separated our position 
from the bluffs of Vicksburg, which were found to be 
strong by nature and by art, and seemingly well de- 
fended." And again on page 291: " I went in person 
about a mile to the right rear of Morgan's position, at a 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 167 

place convenient to receive reports from all parts of the 
line. A heavy artillery fire opened along our whole line, 
and was replied to by the rebel batteries, and soon the 
infantry fire opened heavily, especially on A. J. Smith's 
front, and in front of General George W. Morgan. One 
brigade (DeCourcey's) of Morgan's troops crossed the 
bayou safely, but took to cover behind the bank, and could 
not be moved forward. Frank Blair's brigade, of Steel's 
division, 'in support,' also crossed the bayou, passed over 
the space of level ground to the foot of the hills, but being 
unsupported by Morgan, and meeting a very severe cross- 
fire of artillery, was staggered, and gradually fell back, 
leaving about 500 men behind, wounded and prisoners, 
among them Colonel Thomas Fletcher, afterward Governor 
of Missouri." Ah ha! no discrepancy there ? Blair was 
first in support, and then to be supported! Blair lost about 
500 men! Vague — very vague. DeCourcey lost 125 more 
men than Blair, but DeCourcey's losses were wholly for- 
gotten. 

General Sherman, on page 295, says: "General Grant, 
long after, in his report of the operations of the siege of 
Vicksburg, gave us all full credit for the skill of the 
movement, and described the almost impregnable nature of 
the ground" Was DeCourcey's brigade a part of "us all?" 
In suffering it was chiefest. Its share of commendation, 
however, was "over the left." 

The table on page 162, which neither General Sherman, 
nor any other living man, can invalidate 1 , demonstrates the 
fact that DeCourcey's brigade had the lead, and held it 
until all the troops were driven back ; and this was not 
accomplished until both flanks had passed within the line 
of the enemy's enfilading batteries. 

"Cannon to right of them, 
Cannon to left of them, 
Cannon in front of them 
Volley'd and thundered." 



168 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Every step in advance of the log bridge, mentioned by- 
Major Worthington, was a step deeper 

"Into the jaws of death, 
Into the mouth of hell." 

General Sherman owes it to his great name and fame; 
he owes it to the citizen soldiers who perished at Chicka- 
saw Bluffs under his orders ; he owes it to the truth of his- 
tory and to justice that he shall withdraw the charge that 
has no basis in the records of the War Department to sus- 
tain it — a charge that every living member of the brigade 
feels as a stigma and a stain offered to his manhood and 
honor, and as a deep wrong to his dead comrades. 



ARKANSAS POST. 



Steamboat Crescent City, Arkansas River, | 

Jan. 12, 1863. j 

Dear Wife, — Our forces left their rendezvous at the 
mouth of White River on the 8th, the date of my last, and 
proceeded up that stream twelve miles, to a cut-off lead- 
ing into the Arkansas, and thence up the latter, by its sin- 
uous winding course, sixty miles, to Arkansas Post, where 
the troops were debarked on the tenth, late in the after- 
noon, and during the night they were marched in the rear 
of the works. Some skirmishing, with an occasional ex- 
change of artillery shots, occurred whilst this movement 
was in progress. At daylight on the 11th Captain Porter 
brought his iron-clads fairly into range, and at seven a. 
m. he opened fire. The works had in the meantime been 
completely invested. 

Yesterday, Sunday morning, a bright, beautiful day, the 
game opened in serious earnest all along our entire line, 
just after Porter gave the signal, and it continued with an 
unceasing roar of all arms, until the rebels, at three and a 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 169 

half p. m. sent up a white flag surrendering uncondition- 
ally. 

By this capture we secure five thousand prisoners with 
General Churchill and staff at their head ; possession of a 
commanding position on the river, with an open road and 
open navigation to the capital of the state, and best of all, 
the moral prestige of returning victories won by national 
troops. 

I stop now for breakfast, and will keep this open, un- 
sealed, awaiting mail facilities, and I may have the oppor- 
tunity to add more. * * * The number of our killed 
and wounded here is not so large as at Chickasaw Bluffs, 
but the results are vastly more cheering. * * * 

On board Steamboat J. C. Swan. 12 m. I have been 
detailed for duty on this, the hospital boat, for the wounded 
of General Morgan's division, and I suppose I will 
witness just such scenes as I did at Chickasaw Bluffs. Our 
wounded are now coming in, many having lain all night 
on the battle-field, and the numbers prove to be greater 
than it was at first thought they would be, and many of 
the wounds are frightful to look at. * * * 

Tuesday morning, 1 3tk. 

After eight hours of constant labor surgeons ceased 
work at ten last night. Many men are on sick list. 

The position here had been made as strong as the 
nature of the grounds and surrounding circumstances 
would admit. There are two embrasured block-houses, 
built solid, of hewn logs twelve to fifteen inches square. 
The roofs were of logs of like size, with very steep pitch 
and covered with a double layer of rail-road iron. The 
block-houses are on the outer bend of the river, and so 
situated as to command the river approaches in both di- 
rections. The rear was protected by a line of entrench- 



170 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

ments, beginning at the river above and extending round 
to the river below, and enclosing thirty to forty acres. 
All the guns in the block-houses, except one, were dis- 
mounted by shot entering the embrasures. A fact or 
two will give you some idea of the force of cannon 
shot. The walls, made of beech timber, fifteen inches 
square, were penetrated, and solid shot were driven 
through and through them ; the splinters doing even more 
damage in disabling the men and driving them from their 
guns than the shot did. The rebels had, without the block- 
house, one gun, a hundred and twenty pounder. The bore 
is large enough for a man to crawl into it, the sides corre- 
spond in thickness to the calibre, and this gun was hit just 
in front of the trunnions by a solid shot from one of our 
enfilading guns in battery a half mile distant, and it was 
broken square off. Every artillery horse within the en- 
trenchments was killed and three of the enemy's caissons 
were blown up. 

A personal incident or two I hope you will not think 
out of place. Our brigade was held in reserve on the day 
of battle here, until just before the rebels run up their 
white flag ; at which time it was under orders and under 
way for the final dash on the works, when the surrender 
arrested its course. In the morning I was ordered to re- 
port to General Morgan, to be used as emergencies might 
demand. An hour after the battle began word came to 
the General that an artillery-man was wounded seriously 
and required attention. I was ordered to his relief. My 
ride took me through a beech grove in full view and in 
point blank range of a rebel battery. My large white 
horse made a fine mark for them, and they poured a storm of 
shot and shell on me that made the leafless limbs above my 
head rattle louder than the dry bones in EzekiePs valley of 
death. You may rest assured I was glad to pass out of range. 

Another : Just before the rebels sent up their white flag, 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 



171 



a demand from General McClernand came for a surgeon, 
and I was ordered to attend the call. On reaching the 
General's part of the line I failed to find him, and was there 
first informed of the surrender, and pointed to a squad of 
officers riding rapidly within the enemy's lines, and was 
told that General McClernand was with them. I put spur 
to my horse and pursuing reached the inside of the fortifi- 
cation just in time to witness the surrender of General 
Churchill and staff to General Sherman, and to hear the 
cordial and hearty greetings with which they met. Both 
generals with their staff officers were mounted, and the in- 
terview was in the center of the entrenched ground. ' ' Well, 
Sherman," said Churchill, "I have made the very best, 
fight in my power." " And a very gallant fight you have 
made of it," was Sherman's prompt response. No pala- 
dins of mediaeval chivalry were ever more courteous in 
kindly enquiries for the other's welfare. Brothers in blood 
could not have been more cordial. Here for hours had 
they been hurling deadly missiles at each other, and yet 
under a little bit of white bunting they instantly became 
jolly good friends. The incident was a lesson to me. 

During the past night our prisoners have been embarked 
on steamboats and sent north. Love to all. 

Yours truly, 

Casualties at Arkansas Post. 



roMMANn 




Killed. 


Wounded. 


Captured 
or Missing 


ta 




Offi- 
cers. 


En- 
listed 
Men. 


Offi- 
cers. 

10 
4 

23 
42 


En- 
listed 
Men. 

286 
73 
14 

1 
374 
459 


Offi- 
cers. 


En- 
listed 
Men. 

7 
11 

18 
11 


3 


Burbridge's Brigade ... 


6 


37 
8 
3 

48 
80 


349 






85 






9,8 


Lindsey's " no loss 
DeCourcey's ' " " 




1 


Total 13 A. C . 
Total 15 " 




463 

508 



172 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

EXTRACT FROM THE REPORT OF MAJOR-GEN'L m'CLERNAND. 

" On the night of the 9th Colonel Lindsey's brigade had 
disembarked nine miles below Notrib's farm, at Fletcher's 
Landing, on the right bank of the river, in pursuance of 
General Morgan's order, and marching across a bight of 
the river, had taken position and planted a battery on the 
bank above the fort, equally cutting off the escape or re- 
inforcement of the enemy by water. This was accom- 
plished on the 10th inst., and formed an important part of 
my original plan, for the prompt and skilled execution of 
which I accord Colonel Lindsey great credit. * * * * 

1 ' Colonel DeCourcey's brigade, which, with General 
Blair's division, had born the brunt of the repulse at 
Vicksburg — Chickasaw Bluffs — were kept near the trans- 
ports, to protect them, and to guard the approach across 
the swamp, by which General Steel had countermarched, 
and remained there until about three p. m., when it was 
ordered up." 

Extract from General Morgan's report: "I directed 
General Osterhaus to station Colonel DeCourcey's brigade 
near Notrib's, to watch the roads over which General Steel 
had countermarched, and to look to the safety of the boats. 
This gallant brigade lost 580 men at Chickasaw Bluffs, 
and, with Blair's division, bore the brunt of that hard- 
fought, but unfortunate day. 

"I strongly recommend that Colonels DeCourcey and 
Lindsey be promoted. They are able and efficient brigade 
commanders, and deserve the rank of brigadier." 

Extract from General Osterhaus' report: " By direction 
of Brigadier-General Morgan, I left Colonel DeCourcey 
with the third brigade, as reserve to support us in case of 
emergency, to guard the transports, and to protect the right 
against possible attack from that direction. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 173 

Steamboat Crescent City, Arkansas River, ) 

Jan. 13, 1863. j 

Dear Delia, — I thank you for your last letter, as I am 
more than gratified to hear from Georgetown friends. 

We are now lying, with all the force under General 
Sherman, at Arkansas Post, on the Arkansas river, sixty 
miles above its mouth. 

Within the last three weeks I have witnessed much of 
the horrors of war. I have been present at one very de- 
cided repulse of our troops, and after that at as decided a 
triumph. But be it repulse or triumph, the woes of hu- 
manity are always the same — 

" Man's inhumanity to man 

Makes countless thousands mourn." 

I have witnessed in our last engagements what I hope 
never to see again: men mutilated, lacerated, and shat- 
tered, in the most shocking manner. Our operations here 
and at Vicksburg, you will find detailed in the papers of 
the day, and so I will not comment on them. 

It is much more agreeable to me to view the majestic 
features of nature than the results of the rage and passions 
of man. The magnitude and grandeur of the " Father of 
Waters" grows and still grows on one the more conver- 
sant he is with it. A whole lifetime would not suffice to 
grasp it in all its great features. 

I would be glad to write in detail, but can't just now. 
Official duties press, and time forbids. We are now in the 
hubbub of embarking and disembarking in consequence 
of some confusion of orders. 

Our brigade, I learn, will take position within the entrench- 
ments lately held by the enemy. How long we may re- 
main here, no one knows. Much, of course, depends on 
results elsewhere. With the post were captured thirteen 
cannon, and between five and six thousand prisoners, and 



174 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

with them an equal number of small arms, with attendant 
trains, wagons, horses, etc. 

Remember me kindly to enquiring friends, and give my 
love to your mother and grandmother. 

Yours truly, 



Steamboat War Eagle, off Napoleon, Arkansas, ) 

Jan. 18, 1863. j 

Dear Wife, — The cat is ready for another spring. At 
twelve m. our entire fleet starts again for Vicksburg. 

We have been receiving re-inforcements, but not more 
than sufficient to compensate for losses incurred of late in 
battle and by disease. 

I told you in a former letter that Mrs. Brashear had ac- 
companied the doctor here. She has for three weeks been 
seriously ill. It grieves me to see her, and her anxiety is 
the greater because of the doctor's constant occupation 
with his official duties. After our battles he was able to see 
her only once a day, and for a few minutes only at that. 
At Memphis I advised her to return to her family, and now 
she regrets not having done so. 

I mentioned in a recent letter my trouble with an "old 
time cough." I have to say now that I am almost entirely 
free from it, and feel to-day, better than at any time since 
leaving Memphis. I would be glad to write more if I had 
anything to say, but my brain is dry as a powder horn. 
Love to all, with hearty congratulations on recent tri- 
umphs. * * * 

Yours truly, 



Steamboat War Eagle, Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, *) 

Jan. 22, 1863. j 

Dear Daughter, — I think you in my debt a letter, as I 
have not received one from you of later date than that 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 175 

previously acknowledged, nor have I more recent news 
from home than your mother's of 27th December. 

Long before this reaches you, the papers will have given 
you all the details of our operations at Arkansas Post. On 
the 14th, after destroying the rebel works and blowing up 
the block houses, the troops were all re-embarked. Our 
progress down the rivers has been slow and tedious in the 
extreme, as we have been a week in accomplishing a dis- 
tance that could have been steamed in a day and a half. If 
we were pleasantly situated it would all be very well, but 
the boats are crowded to their utmost capacity, below with 
horses and mules, and above with men, many of whom are 
filthier than the beasts below, so you can form some idea 
of our prison house. To add to our discomfort it has 
rained or snowed half the time, which has occasioned much 
packing round the stoves, and the inhalation of an atmos- 
phere fetid and poisonous enough to make robust men sick. 
I have passed much of my time in the open air on the 
hurricane deck and have tried to induce our men to follow 
my example. 

All along the river we see broad fields of cotton un- 
picked. Most of that gathered was burned by rebel emis- 
saries or rebel orders. We lay at anchor night before last 
near the house of a citizen, formerly of Louisville, Ken- 
tucky. Some of our officers visited the family and learned 
that the proprietor had lost, by burning, three hundred and 
fifty bales of cotton ; a magnificent fortune in these times 
of the dearth of the staple, "and all cut off at one fell 
swoop." He talked very guardedly, but showed that his 
heart is not in the cause, and that he will hail the restor. 
ation of the national authority. 

Our entire fleet, except the gunboats, starts for Memphis 
to-morrow to bring Grant and his army to this point. I 
understand that so soon as all the forces are concentrated 



176 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

here, the effort will be made to open a canal across the neck 
of land on the western side of the river opposite to Vicks- 
burg, and thus to flank the rebel batteries, which command 
the river for fifteen miles. If successful, its accomplish- 
ment will exert much influence on the future progress of 
the war. * * * My health still improves. Love to 
all, with kisses to the children. 

Yours truly, 



Young's Point, Louisiana, Jan. 23, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — I wrote to Kate yesterday, but as I am 
now having a few minutes of leisure, and a boat starts up 
to-morrow, I write again. 

Our troops have been disembarking all day long, and 
many of them are sent to the immediate neighborhood of 
Vicksburg. Our tactics have undergone a change, and 
the programme now is to flank the batteries, by opening a 
canal on the Louisiana side of the river, across the narrow 
neck of the horse-shoe bend, on the outer circle of which 
the city is built. The canal will be two or three miles 
long, but the distance round by the river is from fifteen to 
twenty miles. 

The river is rising slowly, and I presume it will require 
some time to be assured of the success of the enterprise, 
but, if successful, it will be a just retribution on the people 
of that pestilent nest of disorganizers. 

Since the battle of Chickasaw Bluffs our regiment has 
been very much demoralized. From thirty to forty men 
have deserted, and we suppose they have fallen into the 
hands of the enemy. There is also much sickness among 
the troops, which may be regarded as inevitable in a winter 
campaign, and, added to other causes of disease, was that 
of crowding the boats so densely that men, literally and 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 177 

truly, were found asleep standing. You may rest assured 
we were all glad to get on shore. 

Enclosed I send a drawing of a large oak tree, with its 
pendent drapery of moss. I think it well done, the artist 
almost giving the swaying motion of the moss by the wind. 
I send also a drawing by the same hand — one of our offi- 
cers — which he made of me when we were up the Kana- 
wha. He entered my tent at night, and found me read- 
ing. I only waved my hand for him to be seated, and 
continued my occupation. He sat and drew me as I then 
appeared, slouched hat and all. I have worn it ever since 
in my memorandum book, and now it is somewhat soiled 
and blurred. It was, at the time, thought to be very much 
like, so you may see what a beauty I have grown. 

Here the weather is mild as May, and the buds are 
beginning to swell on the early blooming shrubs and 
plants. What a lovely land it would be, unspoiled by the 
madness and rage of man ! 

I am now willing to acknowledge my strong desire to 
get home, yet in the present condition of the regiment, I 
will not give open expression to the feeling. I very much 
fear desertion has been stimulated by the unguarded ex- 
pressions of officers, and the greater indulgence extended 
to them. Such a charge shall never stick to me. 

God bless you all. Kiss the children for me, and re- 
member me kindly to enquiring friends. 
Yours truly, 



Young's Point, Louisiana, Jan. 26, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — I write again, not having received a letter 
from you since your's of 27th December, just one month 
since. I almost fear to learn what may have transpired 
with you within that time. 

We left the boats on 22d inst., and are now camped on 



178 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

a soft sandy river-bottom, with a surface soil of black loam 
that sticks to one's boots like so much glue. It has rained 
almost incessantly since we pitched our tents, and we can't 
walk from tent to tent without carrying along with us ten 
pounds of mud. The situation is anything but agreeable, 
We are sending daily hundreds of men to the up-the-river 
hospitals, and yet the sick accumulate here faster than we 
know what to do with them. 

Our camps are on the west side of the river, and extend 
some six miles along the bank. The 22d is located near 
the center, and two miles above the city. I have twice 
rode down to view the town, which seems to me, in the 
distance, to be very prettily situated. It is admitted by all 
to be a strong position, and our commanders appear to 
appreciate the fact, in attempting to turn it, by turning at 
the same time the body of the "Father of Waters." It is 
a gigantic enterprise, which I sincerely hope may succeed. 
As yet I have not seen the canal, and know nothing of the 
work expended on it. The weather has been so unfavora- 
ble that I have confined myself to my quarters unless 
called out on official duties. 

I had quite an adventure on the 22d inst, the day we 
left the boats. I had a call to medical headquarters, 
which is also General McClernand's quarters, one of the 
steamers being used that way; and whilst in pursuit of 
the boat, which was changing its position from point to 
point, I met a lady, attended by a servant boy, enquiring 
for the general. Whereupon I promptly asked to be per- 
mitted to accompany her, as I was in search of the same 
boat. We rode along almost our entire line, eliciting side 
remarks and sly nods from all my acquaintance in passing. 
Failing to make the boat, she finally requested to be taken 
to the next in command, which I did, and arriving at his 
(Morgan's) boat just at the dinner hour, I could do no less 
than to ask her to dine with me ; and you may rest assured 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 179 

I did the honors with my best grace. After the dinner 
was despatched we resumed our search for General Mc- 
Clernand, but on my way I was called aside by Colonel 
Smith, of the 6th Illinois Cavalry, and admonished to be 
careful of what I was doing. He said he was well con- 
vinced she was a spy from Vicksburg, who, under the 
guise of seeking the privilege of sending cotton North, 
was only making that a pretext to pass along our entire 
line. But that was not the worst of it, as he expressed 
the opinion also that she is a person of questionable 
character. Now was not that a pretty kettle of fish for me 
to stew before folks? 

I have only to say that I don't believe a word of all 
Smith said. I took the declaration of the lady to be true, 
that she is the wife of a planter wishing to go North, and 
take with him the means to sustain his family, and, so 
thinking, I tendered my service. But the mere suspicion 
that I was gulled excited some chagrin on my part, and 
some laughter at my expense. I meet it all, however, by 
saying that I only did by one whom I thought a lady just 
as I hoped every gentleman would do by you under like 
circumstances, and I hope you will agree with me in the 
propriety of my action. 

I see no indications of battle at this point, as we will not 
cross the river to fight the enemy where they have every 
advantage, and they can't cross to attack us. We cap- 
tured yesterday two of their transports. A masked bat- 
tery had been established at a point they were not aware 
of, and when the boats came in range they were com- 
pelled to round to or be sunk, and they chose the former 
alternative. 

The river is high, and is getting higher daily, which is 
favorable to our operations. The only fear just now is 
that it may get out of its banks, and thus occasion trouble, 
but I will not anticipate difficulties for the future. 



180 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Love to all, with many kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



Young's Point, Louisiana, Jan. 28, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — Yours of the 14th reached me an hour 
since, and I hasten to acknowledge it. I wrote to you two 
nights since a letter which I suppose went up the river 
yesterday. 

Early in the day of yesterday our regiment was ordered 
on board the steamboat "Chancellor," to go twelve miles 
up the river to procure wood. So you see soldiering is not 
playing when not fighting. 

The order was to take all the axes to be procured, and 
if cordwood could not be found convenient to the river, to 
cut enough to load the boat, which required a hundred 
cords. The men gave a liberal construction to the term 
"cordwood" and appropriated the rails enclosing the cot- 
ton field of a citizen who is just now absent from his home 
in search of " lost rights." You may not know that the 
rebel authorities have ordered all citizens living on the river 
twelve miles into the interior, and before doing so com- 
pelled them to burn all their cordwood on the banks, and, 
in consequence thereof, steamboats are compelled to burn 
rails. 

Military operations here are carried on very quietly ; no 
one on this part of the line knows what is being done else- 
where, though we hear they are digging away to enlarge 
the canal by which we hope to flank the rebel stronghold. 

The weather for a week has been extremely unfavorable 
for horseback exercise, and I have confined myself pretty 
closely to rny tent. Yesterday, however, it cleared up 
grandly, and all of to-day has been clear, cool, and bracing; 
just such weather as November gives in your latitude. To- 






LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 181 

morrow, if my official duties permit, I purpose to see for my- 
self what progress has been made on the canal ; and in the 
future I will report to you. 

I was sorry to learn from your letter the death of young 
Botts. I esteem the family as among the most worthy citi- 
zens of Boone, and as my best friends and patrons in the 
county. The only words of condolence I have to offer is 
to say that the man who fills a soldier's grave in this con- 
flict, in sustaining the government, deserves to be embalmed 
in the memory of all mankind. 

My health still improves, and I believe I may now say 
the cough has left me, and, I hope, to stay away. 

God bless you all. Give many kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



Young's Point, Louisiana, Feb. 4, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — Col. Lindsey goes to Kentucky on public 
business, and I avail myself of the opportunity to write 
with the hope that my letter will go through in better time 
than by mail. He will post it at Louisville. I have re- 
ceived but one letter from you for more than a month, but 
I hope you continue still to write. I have mailed two let- 
ters per week for home during the past month. 

I have nothing of very special interest to communicate. 
At present we seem to be lying on our oars, doing but little 
in enlarging the canal, and nothing in the belligerent line, 
as this great river between the opposing hosts is a most 
efficient barrier against hostile demonstrations. The 
weather most of the time, since we pitched our tents here, 
has been wet, gloomy, cold, and disagreeable. Most of the 
boys have fire-places in their tents, and have made them- 
selves as comfortable as the circumstances of our situation 
admit. Sumner and I mess together, each having a tent. 



1 82 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

In mine I have a stove ; and his has a fire-place, and so 
we have fire, to eat and sleep by. 

I commenced an effort a few days since to procure a fur- 
lough, but was told by the Medical Director of this Corps, 
Dr. McMillen, in the kindest but most decided terms that 
my services could not be dispensed with at present, nor 
could he name a time when they could be; coupling it with 
a compliment to my efficiency. The latter you may be- 
lieve or not, as you like. 

When and how the campaign here is to terminate can 
only be known to the God of battles. It seems to me the 
rebels fortify faster than we undo their work. They have 
now a battery commanding the lower mouth of the canal. 
And the Engineering Corps are without dredge-boats and 
without automaton diggers, two of which would do more 
work in a day than a thousand men, and this is from sheer 
oversight, as the character of the work required to be done 
was well understood. 

There is much sickness in the army, and many deaths, 
and as a consequence surgeons are much censured. What 
is left of the 22d is in as good condition as any troops in 
field here. We have not had a death in the regiment from 
disease since we left the Kanawha. During the past month 
we have sent to general hospital at Memphis, seventy-one 
men, most of them our wounded at Chickasaw Bluffs. We 
have lost by desertion about forty men in the same period, 
and yesterday in the discharge of my duties in making out 
my usual monthly report I ascertained that we still have in 
the regiment three hundred and forty-nine men, out of 
which number I reported this morning forty-eight on sick 
list, leaving three hundred and one men for duty. This 
showing is as good as any regiment in the service here, for 
the same length of time can make. You tire of all this 
stuff, but I have but little else to write about.* 

Love to all, with kisses to the children. 

Yours truly, 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 183 

*I did the regiment injustice in charging it with so many de- 
sertions. Numbers who at that time were so regarded proved to 
have been captured by the enemy who had our lines under surveil- 
lance all the time and they instantly picked up stragglers. 



Young's Point, Louisiana, Feb. 8, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — Your letter of the 24th January, commu- 
nicating the death of your father, reached me this morning, 
and I wrote at once to your mother. 

The event did not take me by surprise, as from the 
tenor of my letters you could but see that I was expecting it. 
The expression of untimely regrets would avail nothing. 
You have the pleasing reflection that your father acted 
well his part in the drama of life. In the characters: 
citizen, husband, and father, and indeed in all the rela- 
tions of life, he was a good and just man, and the knowl- 
edge of all this should do much to assuage your grief at 
his loss. 

Affairs are progressing here at a snail's pace, if at all. I 
•do not pretend to understand the strategy that controls our 
movements ; I think scarce anyone else does, or that we 
have any. I hear talk of movements in our rear, looking 
to a more formidable opening of the Mississippi through 
some lakes and bayous, but I have reached the stage of 
doubt of everything in the military line without ocular 
demonstration. 

The papers tell of the frightful amount of sickness in 
our camps. Much of it is traceable to imprudence of sol- 
diers, but more to the inevitable exposure of a winter 
campaign. I suppose you have had a cold winter with 
you in the North. Here, for a few nights past, the cold 
has been intense enough to make ice from a half to three- 
fourths of an inch in thickness. All this with the ground 
saturated with water, and rain falling half the time; it 



1 84 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

would be strange if it were otherwise than sickly. Our 
brigade has suffered with the others, but I am glad still to 
be able to say the 22d has not lost a man by disease in 
the field since we left the Kanawha. I think I will not 
be able to say as much to-morrow morning. One of our 
old men will die of diarrhoea to-night. 

I witnessed, two days since, a sad, a very sad sight, on 
one of our boats. It had been fitted up as a hospital 
boat, and orders were received by surgeons of the 13th 
corps to send their sick on board for transportation up the 
river to general hospital. Many men were put on board 
only to die, and numbers of them were sent to the boat 
without rations, and were more than twenty-four hours 
without food. I sent on board no man without subsist- 
ence. On the second day after putting my men on the 
boat I visited them, and found on the guards and fore- 
castle of the boat twenty-two dead men. I believe, before 
God, some of them died for want of proper nourishment. 
I was very glad to find no 22d men numbered with the 
dead. Surgeons are being soundly abused for these things 
by the unthinking, but they are no more responsible for 
them than you. As yet I have drawn on myself no cen- 
sure that I am aware of. I know my deficiencies, but 
still know they are not so great as those of many surgeons 
round me, who make a much more pretentious showing 
than I can attempt. You may think all this egotism and 
vanity. So be it. * 

I regret to say Mrs. Brashear grows worse week after 
week, but she will not consent to go North without the 
doctor. I am very sorry for them, and will regret losing 
him if he retires from the service. All I know of my cler- 
ical duties I owe to his kindness. My advice all the time 
has been for Mrs. B. to go North, but now I fear she is 
too feeble to attempt the trip. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 185 

We get no news from the outside worlpl. I hope you 
will give me all the local tit-bits you can. * * * Love 
to all, with kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 

* The difficulty on this occasion resulted from the order to send 
sick to the boat before it was supplied with subsistence. Sur- 
geons were ordered, in sending sick to boat on this occasion, to 
direct captains of companies to see that each soldier had with him 
twenty-four hours' rations. I presume surgeons obeyed instruc- 
tions ; but, whether they did or not, I know that many men were 
placed on this boat, nominally in hospital, suffering with exhaust- 
ing diseases, left to themselves, without nurses, and numbers of 
them went for more than twenty-four hours without nourishment, 
at a time when an hour's neglect was, in many instances, equiva- 
lent to the loss of life. Regimental surgeons were powerless to 
correct the wrong, because the men had passed from their jurisdic- 
tion. Nevertheless, they made good marks at whom newspaper 
correspondents could shoot their envenomed shafts. 

STUCK IN THE MUD. 

Young's Point, Louisiana, Feb. 14, 1863. 

Dear Daughter, — Your letter of the 1st inst. reached me 
last evening. You complain because I do not write oftener 
to you. I have many correspondents, you but few, yet I 
never permit a letter of yours to go twenty-four hours un- 
acknowledged. Since reaching this point I have received 
from your mother three letters and one from you. I have 
written home twice a week during all that time, besides 
having my daily reports to make out, and letters to write to 
all sections of Kentucky where the regiment was recruited, 
in answer to anxious enquiries from the friends of Tom, 
Dick, and Harry, asking as to their welfare. I try to an- 
swer all, if I can say only a few words. This statement I 
make that you may see how my time is engrossed. 

Edw. Parrish is here ; I have, however, seen him but 



1 86 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

once since we left Arkansas Post. Recently he has been 
confined to quarters by slight indisposition ; nothing seri- 
ous, and I presume he is again at his duty. 

You seem anxious to have me resign and return home. 
Resignations are accepted at this time on two grounds 
only; first, failing health, which I can't plead just now; 
and second, incompetency. Some of our officers have re- 
quested the Colonel to endorse on their tendered resigna- 
tions : " Approved and recommended for the good of the 
service." An ancient Spartan mother when sending her 
son to battle said to him, " Return bearing your shield or 
on it." And I hope I may be borne back on mine before 
submitting to the imputation of incapacity or unfaithfulness 
self inflicted. * * * I have this minute a call to Medical 
headquarters of division, and pause. * * * 

Night. When orders came this morning to report at 
Medical headquarters, it made me feel a little bit blue, as 
military law is exacting, and I feared some failure of duty 
on my part. But on reaching surgeons' quarters I was no- 
tified of my assignment as brigade surgeon to my brigade. 

Make me your best courtesy. Thank you, it was very 
well done. Now don't say modest merit lacks advance- 
ment. I protested against the appointment, and begged 
that one or the other of two gentlemen of the brigade 
whose commissions are of older date than mine, might be 
named for the position; but it would not do; I must dis- 
charge the duties, and I had for an hour the supreme 
infelicity of supposing that duties were imposed on me that 
were uncongenial to my feelings, and which would sep- 
arate me from my regiment. 

In obedience to orders, however, I reported at General 
Osterhaus' (Dutch as sauerkraut) quarters, where I soon 
learned that the military arm had something to say in the 
assignment of surgeons to duty. The "Regulations" 
positively require that the surgeon oldest in commission 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 187 

shall fill the position. So you have wasted all your grace 
on me for naught, and you may therefore take it back. 
* * * I did not ask or desire the position, and am heartily 
glad to be relieved from its onerous duties. God bless 
you all. Kiss the children for me. 
Yours truly, 



Young's Point, Louisiana, Feb. 14, 1863. 

Dear Delia, — I received a letter from Kate by last 
night's mail, in which she tells me mother is giving herself 
much uneasiness on my account I was sorry to learn it, 
but I think she will never be able to view the vicissitudes 
of life with the equanimity and fortitude usually attendant 
on age. My life and the lives of us all are in the hands of 
a good God, and they will be preserved just so long as his 
wisdom designs they shall be. My health at present is as 
perfect as at any time within the past five years, and I can 
say what no other surgeon of my acquaintance can : I have 
been fifteen months in service and have lost but two days 
from duty, and those days were spent in going to and from 
Burlington in April of last year when the regiment lay at 
Louisville. I do not mean to say I have not complained, 
but never so seriously as to interfere with my duties. This 
statement ought to dissipate any unreasonable fears. 

I don't owe you a letter and write to calm mother's anxi- 
eties. But you must not think I am going to waste on you 
a whole sheet of blank paper. I will endeavor to fill it, 
just as a punishment for your long silence. You wrote to 
me "in the bleak December;" if since, I have not received 
it, tho' I have in the meantime written twice to you. 

In camp life there are but few incidents to interest a lady 
correspondent, but now and then little amusing affairs do 
occur. After the loss of my little mare at Memphis, I 
bought me a fine, large, sprightly horse. If I have a pas- 



188 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

sion for any thing, it is for a brisk gallop on a bright, 
bracing day. Enjoying such a ride two days since, I 
passed a tent by the road side, where a squad of boys at 
their camp fire were preparing their dinner meal, when I 
heard one of them say, "Now just look at that old feller ; 
he rides one of the best horses in the army and he rides 
harder than any body else." You see how an " old feller" 
in the army has to cudgel his brains to make out a letter, 
just because he won't waste paper ; but bless us, paper will 
soon cost so much that I will not be able to afford such 
sheets as this for such scribbling. 

The papers have given you all the details of our opera- 
tions at Vicksburg and Arkansas Post, so I will say nothing 
more of them ; but if in the midst of war I must say noth- 
ing of battles, and wounds, and death, what shall I write 
about ? 

Kate tells me one of your young friends died recently 
in the South, and also a young man from Boone, the hus- 
band of one of her schoolmates, and both of them in the 
rebel army. God preserve us all, as nothing but his inter- 
position can save the nation from overthrow and ruin. 

Love to all. Yours truly, 



Young's Point, Louisiana, Feb. 23, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — I have a few minutes, and but a few, to 
devote to you, as the more important duty of despatch- 
ing my noon quantum of pork and beans is just ahead of 
me, and after that to go on inspection by our Dutch Briga- 
dier, a duty I am not permitted to evade. 

I am in a scolding mood, and before you get through 
with this you will probably wish I had no time just now for 
anything. Do you write letters to me at all? and if so, how 
often ? A great, big mail came in yesterday, after an in- 
terval of ten days, but without any thing for me. Letters 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 189 

came to the regiment from all points in Kentucky except 
Burlington. Who is your postmaster at present? Now 
don't think me unkind, but think how it is at home, and 
then how much worse if absent and expecting letters, and 
others receiving them without stint, and none for you. I 
write certainly once, generally twice, a week, and yet in 
the last eight weeks I have received from home but four 
letters : three from you and one from Kate. There is a 
screw loose somewhere, and I hope you will find it soon. 

The work on the canal goes favorably on, and in a few 
days of good weather will be completed and the rebel bat- 
teries rendered of no avail as an obstruction to navigation. 
I give the opinions of others. The weather and the roads 
for ten days have been so miserable, so very miserable, 
that I have not gone down to see what progress has been 
made on the works, which are three miles below our camp. 

Col. Lindsey is now in Kentucky, and Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel Monroe starts up to-day, and both on recruiting and 
regimental business. I am getting disgusted, thoroughly 
disgusted, with the favoritism which prevails everywhere in 
the army. Unless seriously ill I would spurn the idea of 
applying for a sick leave. Although the 22d continues to 
enjoy pretty good health, and I might be spared without 
any great wrong to the regiment, yet, with the great 
amount of sickness in the army, it would look like desert- 
ing a post of danger in a trying emergency ; therefore I 
will at present say nothing on the subject. 

Papers from Cairo, with telegrams from Frankfort of the 
eighteenth, giving details of Colonel Gilbert's action in 
arresting the progress of the semi-rebel convention reached 
here an hour since. They caused in our regiment a pro- 
found sensation. 

All the news from Kentucky looks squally. I took my 
position with deliberation ; other men may drift from their 
moorings ; be caught in the suck and whirl ; be swallowed 



190 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

up and lost in the horrid maelstrom of secession if they 
will ; but I feel the more determined to stand by my well 
settled convictions of duty and honor. 

I have recently sent several papers for publication in the 
Gazette. Have any of them appeared ? You would rec- 
ognize the old cognomen. I receive a copy of the paper 
very rarely. There now, Charley says, ' ' Pork and beans 
am dun dun," and I pause. 

Love to all. Yours truly, 



[At this period many officers tendered resignations. Two Cap- 
tains and one Lieutenant called on me one day and requested cer- 
tificates on which to make such tenders. Two of them were in 
robust health, but had occasioned trouble in the regiment by in- 
subordinate talk about President Lincoln's Emancipation Procla- 
mation. I recognized no right on their part to ask my aid to get 
them out of a difficulty into which they had voluntarily entered, 
and absolutely declined to make certificates. 

The other man, Captain F E , had joined the regi- 
ment only three months before at Memphis. He was anaemic, 
pale, frail, and without a grain of iron in his blood ; and had been 
on " sick list " more than half his time in the regiment. In his case 
I " certified," that unless permitted to resign he would soon die. 

Within a week the papers in all these cases were returned to the 
regiment, and the first two mentioned cases were permitted to re- 
sign ; and the other case, the "sick man" was retained. I did 
not understand it ; and so rode to headquarters, and introducing 
myself to General Rawlins as Surgeon to the 22d Kentucky, said 

that I had called to see the grounds on which Captain and 

Lieutenant had been permitted to resign, and why the res- 
ignation of Captain F E had been "disapproved." 

The General referred me to the proper desk for the desired infor- 
mation ; while engaged in conversation with him a stoutly built 
man of short stature came up on my right, but having the Gen- 
eral's ear, I neither saluted nor gave way until directed to the 
proper desk. As I walked off I heard the question asked, "Who 
is that man ? " 

The papers showed that the officers were permitted to resign 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 191 

" For the good of the service ; " and subsequently I learned that 

they had both of them strongly solicited such an endorsement on 

their papers. 

" Oh Shame, where is thy blush ? " 

I explained to General Rawlins wherein the good of the regi- 
ment was promoted by their resignations. " Had all the facts been 
known in time," said the General, "they would both of them have 
been dishonoi'ably dismissed." 

I again offered Captain F E 's paper, with the re- 
mark that unless permitted to resign we would soon have to 
bury him. The General directed me to leave the papers with him, 
promising to look through them again ; and in a few days they 
were returned to the regiment "approved." And thus I success- 
fully cut a bit of " red tape." 

On parting with General Rawlins I asked who was the officer 
I met at his desk. It was General Grant, and my first sight of 

him. Returning to my quarters I found Captain E waiting 

for me, and I said to him: "If you will have endorsed on your 
papers that the resignation will be for ' the good of the service ' it 
will go through instanter." His response was seared into my 

memory : " By G I will die here in my boots sooner than do 

so." I honored his pluck.] 

Young's Point, Louisiana, March 4, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — Your letter of the 15th February reached 
me yesterday, and I take the first opportunity to answer. 
I always have a busy time the first three days of the 
month, as it requires that time, with my other duties, to 
make out my monthly report. 

I began my army life much as I did my domestic life : 
with the idea that it was my duty to make the fire, grind 
the coffee, milk the cow, and spank the babies; and as 
you have given me an abundance of milking and spanking 
to attend to, I have got so used to it that I go about my 
indispensable duties here just as meekly as I did my domes- 
tic duties at home. Other surgeons have their quarterly 
and monthly reports made to hand, and have only to 
sign them. I have not exacted such a duty from either 



192 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

the assistant surgeon or hospital steward, but up to the 
present have done it myself. I do not regret having done 
so, as it has given me a better acquaintance with my du- 
ties than I otherwise could have obtained. 

So far as I am concerned, I am entirely satisfied with 
your father's will, and I hope you are also. I would have 
been equally so if he had left you nothing, as I have al- 
ways thought that he had done by us more than he could 
by his other children, after making suitable provision for 
your mother, which was his first duty. 

I see by the papers from Kentucky you are having 
another raid into the state. The repetition of these things 
is a shame and disgrace to the State. When two or three 
thousand men can run 150 miles in and out of so populous 
a State as Kentucky, without capture or serious punish- 
ment, it shows a lack of military spirit in the people, or a 
feeling of subserviency to' rebellion. 

You ask the return of one of your letters. You are a 
little too late in doing so. When I left Arkansas Post I 
destroyed all my private correspondence, not knowing 
what might be my fate, or the fate of my trunk. I de- 
termined that, in no event, should letters from my family 
or friends be hawked round in rebel camps, as I found 
bushels of rebel letters in the hands of our boys after we 
took possession there. 

What kind of winter are you having North ? Here, with 
much rain, we have had the coldest winter experienced for 
years. The river is even too full for expeditious opera- 
tions, and the continued rains have interfered much with 
the labors of the men on the canal. One hour of rain 
makes the mud here knee deep, but then a little wind and 
sun settle it again directly. The bayous are full behind 
us and around us everywhere, and the earth is thoroughly 
saturated with water. With me truly is it : 

"Water, water everywhere, 
Nor any drop to drink." 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 193 

I don't drink it, and think that is one reason of my com- 
parative exemption from diarrhoea, which troubles every- 
body else around me so much. 

So far as my personal comforts are concerned, they are 
better ministered to here than at any place or time since I 
entered the service. I wish you could see inside my tent. 
It is fitted up with a brick chimney, with a neatly built fire- 
place, which is just now filled with a sparkling, glowing 
bed of coals, that send their warmth and radiance all 
round the tent. On one side is my writing table and desk, 
gotten up in trim, artistic style, with drawers and pigeon- 
holes for my books and papers. On the other is my bunk, 
and a very comfortable one it is, on which Sumner and I 
sleep, and on which he now lies locked in the arms of 
Somnus, dreaming of former domestic felicity, if one may 
judge from the stertorous, rasping sounds he emits. 

And now for my bill of fare. I am trying to economize 
in the way of eating, and so do not buy much of the com- 
missary of subsistence. But I have taught a goodly num- 
ber of men here a thing or two in the way of meats. I 
am living chiefly on such refuse articles as beef heels and 
tripe ; they are worth nothing to contractors, and are fit 
food only for old doctors. If you would only try them 
you would probably find them good enough for an old 
doctor's wife. We have good light-bread, baked fresh 
everyday, rice, hominy, beans, "praties" that would make 
Pat's mouth run over any day, butter and cheese from 
cheesedom, dried fruits of all kinds, hams at nine cents 
per pound, tea, coffee, and chocolate for those fond of it. 
Won't my bill of fare do ? I doubt if you can beat it up 
in "God's country." 

I frequently meet Edw. Parrish. He is well, and ex- 
pects soon to be in Kentucky, as Governor Robinson has 
procured the recall of his company to the state, to rejoin 
the regiment. 



i 9 4 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

You say Kate complains that I don't write oftener to 
her. The saucy baggage. I never permit a letter of hers 
to go unacknowledged more than twenty-four hours. 

I must now go to bed. Love to all, with many kisses to 
the children. Good night. 

Yours truly, 



Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, March 12, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — Another twelve days have passed since I 
last received a letter from home, and our arrival of to-day 
brought a large mail from the North, but nothing for me. 

Uncle Toby said, ' ' Our armies swore terribly in Flan- 
ders," and I have to say that, if anything could excuse or 
palliate such a vicious and ungentlemanly habit, it would 
be to sit by and see all others round him receiving favors 
from home, and find himself unremembered. Do you 
write regularly ? If so, there is a great wrong about my 
letters somewhere. Can't you manage to send them to 
Cincinnati to be mailed ? 

You will see that I write from another locality. Milli- 
ken's Bend is fifteen miles above Vicksburg. The flood in 
the "Father of Waters" has driven half the army from its 
old position to seek higher ground. Our brigade was not 
in any immediate danger of being submerged, but we 
were sent here to make room for other troops. I pretend 
to know no more than that we are here. 

The work on the canal was progressing almost to com- 
pletion when the river swept off the dam established at the 
upper end of the canal, and flooded all the low ground of 
the peninsula at once. Fortunately, the work was almost 
complete, and the misfortune will not, I hope, retard its 
accomplishment long. The work yet to be done will re- 
quire the use of the dredge boats, two of which, I under- 
stand, have recently reached here. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 195 

The channel was opened sixty feet in width and twelve 
in depth. The embankment is on the west side of the 
canal, leaving the eastern side level with the general sur- 
face, and when the dam gave way all the bottom be- 
tween the canal and Vicksburg was at once submerged. 
Standing on the embankment the day after the dam gave 
way, I saw the world of waters spreading all the way to 
the city, a distance of live or six miles. 

Our encampment here is a much more agreeable one 
than that we left below. We are in the midst of the most 
fertile, and heretofore best cultivated, region on the river 
devoted to the growth of cotton. But here, as elsewhere, 
the rebel authorities compelled families and entire com- 
munities to vacate their homes, and move back into the 
interior. Houses spacious as any in the country, embow- 
ered in shade and shrubbery, we found tenantless. In all 
their adornment I have seen nothing to equal the avenues 
of the live oak. As a shade tree it is not, it can not be, 
surpassed in this country. I have found here a flowering 
shrub, in full bloom, bearing a deep scarlet, cup-shaped 
flower, very beautiful. The roses are just budding out, 
and the daffodil, the jonquil, and the daisy, are all in full 
bloom, and all make a scene too lovely to be trampled on 
and overthrown by a rude soldiery. But the owners of 
these Edens would have it so, and they must abide the re- 
sults of their own wrong doings. 

I have just read over what I wrote in the commencement 
of my letter, and find it sounds a little harsh. I began in 
a state of irritation — nay, of downright anger, but, like Bob 
Acres' courage, my anger has oozed out at my finger ends, 
and I now feel more comfortable. I hope you do also. 
You owe me three letters according to your own count, and 
Kate owes me one, and I now declare solemnly — and that 
is as good, and just as bad, too, as all of uncle Toby's 



196 LETTERS FROM THE ARM\. 

swearing — I won't write another letter to man, woman, or 
child, until I hear from home. 

Love to all, with kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, March 13, 1863. 

Dear Delia, — I received some days since a letter from 
you written at Eminence, Kentucky, under date of Feb- 
ruary 15. At the time of its reception we were under 
orders for this point, which, in connection with the fact, 
that I had written to you a few days previously without 
waiting for your letter to come to hand, will, I trust, be 
apology sufficient for not acknowledging your last before 
this time. 

You think me gloomy and unhappy. I can't recall lan- 
guage of mine to justify your conclusion. I would very 
much prefer to be at home with my family, have all the 
time since entering the service felt so, but the present is no 
time to consult one's feelings and inclinations. The 
country demands, and has a right to demand the serv- 
ices of every man in the land who has any capacity to be 
useful in any way, and for myself I have to say the call 
shall be responded to, to the last pulsation of my life, if 
God so wills, whatever may be the sacrifice of feelings and 
comfort. But I beg to disabuse your mind. Whilst I 
have the whitest head in my regiment, I am by general 
consent considered one of its youngest men. In my own 
department I surrender to no man in my powers of en- 
durance, and, if mounted on horseback, I can outride the 
best man of them all; and turn me out on a larking frolic 
with the boys, and I flatter myself I hold my hand with the 
j oiliest of the squad. Let this suffice in answer to my 
"gloom and unhappiness." 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 197 

You ask why I don't, as heretofore, say something of this 
country. Off from the river there is nothing to describe, 
nothing even to excite emotion. It is a dead blank without 
hill or mountain in the distance to relieve the monotony 
that after a time becomes painfully present. The river, 
however, would require more than a lifetime to exhaust, 
and still remain undescribed. I will leave it alone in its 
glory. 

You will see from the heading that the army — at least a 
portion of it — has changed its location. The floods in the 
"Father of Waters," compelled a change of base with 
about half the troops here, and I am glad it fell to our lot 
to pull up stakes and be off. Nothing depresses soldiers so 
much as lying inactive in camp. 

I wish you could peep into my tent and see how many 
comforts can be compressed into a space of ten or twelve 
feet square. I have a fire-place, with a flue that draws 
well; I am therefore free from one of the discomforts, but 
too often attendant on domestic life, a smoking chimney; 
I say nothing of a scolding wife. My tent is floored, 
thus keeping me from contact with the moist earth. In 
the far end, just opposite the fire, stands my bookcase and 
writing table. On one side is my bunk on which I sleep 
o' nights, and where my messmate Sumner does all his 
cogitations preparatory to his sabbath ministrations. You 
know him? He once conducted a female academy at 
New Castle, near your present location. I presume he has 
many friends in your neighborhood. He has more merits 
than most men give him credit for. He is a minister; that 
is perhaps his misfortune not his fault. He is my vade me- 
cum to whom I refer for the solution of all doubtful ques- 
tions. In his personal appearance there, is nothing very 
remarkable ; true, he has a good eye, and a nose indicative 
of "some pumpkins," but all this would pass without 
much observation until thorough acquaintance made one 



198 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

aware of some other of his merits. He has, as he expresses 
it himself, an eye in his stomach. If a mess in all the 
regiment has some nice knick-knack sent by appreciating 
friends from abroad, his invisible organ of vision is sure to 
spy it out, and he, with the adroitness of the practiced tac- 
tician, secures his full share of everything. And then the 
gastronomic eye, like the gastronomic organ, is insatiable. 
These are faculties so rarely possessed by the gentlemen 
in Black that I am anxious, not only that he, but all the 
fraternity shall have due credit for them. Peter Simple said 
he could do a great deal of sleeping if it were for the good 
of the service. My friend is not a whit less patriotic, and 
he sleeps immensely for the public good, and he labors 
harder sleeping than waking. Shakespeare speaks of one 
of his characters as "full of wise saws." I think he had 
in his mind's eye my friend Sumner, but he made a great 
mistake in the adjective: he should have said, "full of old 
saws," because every time he sleeps he files one of them 
up, and makes both day and night hideous with the harsh 
grating sound. The process is going on just now, but 
having no evidence within of a nervous organization, it 
does me no particular harm. I am extremely anxious 
that he and all the cloth may have full credit for his indus- 
try. You will, I fear, think me cynical in mentioning his 
industry as meritorious, as that is a quality in which the 
fraternity abound. Should you meet with his old friends, 
I hope you will bear cheerful evidence on the strength ol 
my "say so," to his many merits, and I have no doubt it 
will have just as much weight as "say so" evidence is 
entitled to. 

All nature here is putting on her robes of richest, deep- 
est green. The lawns are covered with sward and planted 
in avenues of the stately live oak, which are grand and 
imposing, and are interspersed everywhere by parterres 
of flowers of all climes, hues and varieties, which make a 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 199 

picture lovely to look on. But all has been abandoned to 
the ruthless tread of the soldiery. 

Commanding Generals, with commendable self-abnega- 
tion, appropriate the mansions to themselves, and allow 
the negro huts to be used as hospitals for poor sick and 
wounded soldiers. 'Tis extremely generous of them. 

Love to all. Yours truly, 



Headquarters 22d Kentucky Infantry, 
Milliken's Bend, March 13, 1863. 
Major Wm. J. Worthington, 

In Command 22d Kentucky Infantry. 
Sir, — I ask leave of absence for twenty days, with per- 
mission to go beyond the lines of this department. The 
general sanitary condition of the regiment does not, in my 
judgment, forbid such a brief absence at present. 

I joined the 23d Kentucky Infantry as Asst. Surgeon on 
the 16th day of December, 1861, and was promoted and 
transferred to the 22d on the 3d of January, 1862, since 
which date I have been constantly with the regiment, and 
off duty but two days of time. Within that period I have 
twice been taken down the Ohio River in less than ten 
miles of my family without permission to see them. The 
father of my wife died on the 22d of January last, and my 
pecuniary affairs are suffering in consequence of my pro- 
longed absence from my home. 

I have not the remotest wish to dissolve my connection 
with the regiment, but beg to say if there is a prospect of 
an early advance on the enemy I forego all present desire 
for leave of absence. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

B. F. STEVENSON, 

Surgeon 22d Ky. InP y. 



200 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

March 13, 1863. 
Approved and forwarded. 

WM. J. WORTHINGTON, 
Commanding 22d Ky. Inf'y. 



Headquarters 2d Brigade 9th Division, 
March 13, 1863. 

Recommended and forwarded. 

L. A. SHELDON, 
Col. Commanding 2d Brigade. 



Headquarters 9th Division, 13th Army Corps, ) 
Camp McClernand, March 14, 1863. J 
Respectfully returned. This application can not be 
granted at present. The Surgeon may, however, renew 
his request at a future and more opportune period. 
By order of Brigadier General P. J. Osterhaus. 

A. W. GORDON, A. A. G. 



Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, March 15,1863. 

Dear Wife, — Yours of the 4th inst. reached me yester- 
day. I think there are others of older date in the mail. 
If I have indulged in some hasty expressions I hope you 
will pardon me. I did it to quicken your letter writing. 

The Paymaster visited us yesterday, and I will forward 
to bank at Covington, in a day or two, five hundred dollars 
subject to your order. Mr Sumner will go up — at least we 
expect him to do so — and take funds from the regiment to 
soldiers' families. My payment was six hundred and forty- 
one dollars ; and I retain one forty-one, which, with the 
amount I had on hand will, I hope, be sufficient for me. 

I ordered a suit of clothes recently of L. Frazier of Cov- 
ington. If they have not been forwarded before Sumner 
reaches your section he promises to take charge of them, 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 201 

in which event I will expect you to pay for them. I 
ordered the suit made of the best material and it will cost 
near seventy dollars. But if he has forwarded by Express, 
as ordered, I will pay here. Sumner will take charge of 
anything you wish to send, and he will give you due notice 
by letter when and where to send articles to his charge. 
Allow me to suggest such things as I would like to have 
sent. A ham or two, boiled ; dried beef; a jar or two of 
chopped tomato pickles, highly seasoned and thoroughly 
secured; a few small jars of jelly. I will mention noth- 
ing more, and these may all be packed in a small box well 
arranged. Don't burden him with much. Label with black 
paint; a card would be torn off the first time his back were 
turned on it, and then it would be confiscated. 

I made an effort two days since to secure a furlough 
for twenty days. I send in a separate envelope my formal 
application and the response that you may see that my long 
stay from home is not wholly voluntary. I think the infer- 
ence fairly deducible from the language is that warm work 
may be looked for soon. You will see that whilst my ap- 
plication is not granted, I have been treated very courte- 
ously; indeed, under the regulations it could not have been 
more gracefully refused me. You may feel some surprise 
at my declaration that I have no wish to leave the regi- 
ment. I felt it a duty to myself to make the declaration 
officially because so many men are resorting to all sorts of 
expedients to get out of service; some availing themselves 
of yielding "physicians" at their homes, who make out 
certificates of disability, on which officers prolong their stay 
from duty. But further than this I have it still to say that 
in my judgment the army is the only proper place at pres- 
ent for any man with capacity for usefulness to the govern- 
ment, and so feeling I cannot with any sense of honor do 
otherwise than to hold on to my position. 

My failure to get a most disagreeable appointment trou- 



202 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

bles Kate, it seems, vastly more than it does me. It is a 
position sought after by some surgeons in the army, but 
I assure you I do not want it, did not ask for it, and am 
heartily glad to have escaped it. What I said to her, was 
all of it in a spirit of banter and fun. 
Love to all. Yours truly, 



Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, March 18th, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — A mail came in this morning, a general 
mail ; a full mail, but nothing for me, and I adopt this half 
sheet because it is large enough for me to say all I want to 
say until you get into the habit of writing regularly to me. 
I think myself entitled to a letter by every mail, and I now 
give you notice that you must not expect to hear from me 
again until you prove, to my satisfaction, that you have 
adopted a regular time for writing. 

Since my last, Frazier has given me notice that he has 
forwarded to Memphis the suit of clothes ordered of him. 
I will pay for them at that point, and will not therefore 
send home as much money as I mentioned in my previous 
letter. 

Sumner has not yet received leave to go North, and no 
safe opportunity has presented to transmit funds. He is, 
however, in daily expectation to receive the permit. I would 
be glad to have him visit you, if his time will allow, as he 
could say more than I can write. 

If in the future, and before you have established a good 
character as a regular correspondent I should send a mere 
note of business informing you when to expect funds, I 
hope you will not take it as a violation of my vow, which 
shall be as unchanging as the laws of the Medes and 
Persians. 

What is Kate doing ? I have not received a letter from 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 203 

Iher for more than two months, and yet she dares to com- 
plain of me, for not writing. I won't write until I get an 
-answer to my last ; of that she may rest well assured. 

A heavy cannonading is now going on in the distance, 
but what it means I know no more than you do. Much 
"villainous saltpeter" has recently been burned in this 
neighborhood, chiefly by the rebels, but so far as I can 
learn without any casualties on our part. 

Love to all, with kisses to the children. As I know I 
will have soon to address you in a formal business manner 
I will try it on now that you may get used to it. 
I am, madam, 

Your obedient servant, 



Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, March 20, 1863. 
Mrs. Ann E. Stevenson, 

Burlington, Kentucky. 

Madam, — I have this day forwarded by the hands of S. 
S. Sumner, five hundred dollars, to be placed to your 
credit in the branch of the Farmers Bank of Kentucky at 
Covington. Will you do me the favor to acknowledge its 
receipt? I send by same hands also sixty dollars to pay 
Frazier's bill at Memphis, if the express company is author- 
ized to receipt bill • if not, then his instructions are to de- 
posit the amount with the other funds to your credit. In 
which event I ask as a favor that you will pay Frazier for 
me. 

I am, madam, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 



204 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Headquarters Department of the Tennessee, i 
Medical Director's Office, y 

Young's Point, March 23, 1863. ) 
Sir, — You will report in person at this office immedi- 
ately, for the purpose of explaining discrepancies in your 
" Monthly Report of Sick and Wounded" for February, 

1863. 

By Order of the Medical Director, 

H. WARDEN, 
B. F. Stevenson, Surgeon U. S, V. 

Surgeon 22d Kentucky Volunteers. 



Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, March 25, 1863. 

Dear Daughter, — I wrote you day before yesterday a. 
foolish letter. I know very well you are not responsible 
for the miscarriages of the mails, but it seems to me I suf- 
fer from them more than any man in our regiment. I am 
willing to give you credit for writing regularly, at least I 
hope you do so, and I will regret to reach a different con- 
clusion. 

Mr. Sumner started up last Saturday, and will have 
passed your section before this reaches you. I sent by 
him five hundred dollars to deposit in bank at Covington 
subject to your mother's order. He took also sixty dollars 
to pay for a suit of clothes ordered of Frazier of Covington. 
He may settle with the express company at Memphis for 
the suit ; if not, the sixty dollars will be deposited with the 
five hundred, and in that event she must settle with. 
Frazier. All this I said in a former letter and now repeat, 
because my letters, as well as yours, are sometimes lost in 
the mail. 

Nature here is arrayed in her robes of brightest, deepest 
green, and is beginning to look her loveliest. The roses, 
are in full bloom, and all the flowering shrubs and plants- 
of the parterre are displaying their beauty to the admiring 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 205 

gaze of the world. But nothing here equals the avenues 
of the live oak; they are positively magnificent. The 
China tree (not the Ailantus, I don't know its botanical 
name) is also quite a favorite here, as much so as the lo- 
cust in Kentucky. I suppose its chief recommendations 
are the same as with the locust: it is easily propagated and 
is of rapid growth. It does not, however, compare with 
the oak in grandeur, beauty, or durability. 

I had the honor of a call to General Grant's quarters 
this morning. A steamboat was sent for my especial ac- 
commodation; so you see I am rising in the world. I send 
you the order that you may see the summary process by 
which military men accomplish their purposes. You might 
think I had committed some grave or serious blunder, or 
omitted some important duty, but it was no such thing. 
In making out my general summary of sick for the month, 
I failed to carry forward a single figure as it was down in 
a preceding column; it occurred just as you find me drop 
a terminal letter occasionally. It was obvious to all, but 
the Medical Director would not permit the clerk who pro- 
posed to do so, to amend by adding the missing figure; 
assigning as a reason, that if he could change the report 
in one particular he could in another, and he might thus 
change it in toto. I had the pleasure of a fifteen miles' 
ride and back, by steamer on a bright beautiful day ; was 
courteously treated at headquarters ; but laughed at some 
for the solicitude I displayed on the occasion. The return 
trip I enjoyed quite much. 

How long we may remain here no one can tell. I have 
serious fears that the authorities will make a failure again, 
as we did in the rear of Vicksburg in December last. 
Affairs progress with such a laggard pace that the rebels 
are always more than ready for us. Last night two of our 
new rams started to run the blockade, but I regret to say 
one was sunk and the other disabled. What loss of life 



206 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

attended the sinking boat I could not learn, nor was it 
known at headquarters. 

You must write to me every week without waiting for 
letters from me. My health is prime. Kiss the children 
for me. 

Yours truly, 



Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, March 29, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — I wrote you a letter or two recently, the 
language of which you may think was uncalled for. I am 
ready to acknowledge that I felt some irritation at receiv- 
ing so few letters from home whilst others around me were 
getting theirs from all points in Kentucky far beyond 
you. I am somewhat cooler just now, and will try in the 
future to be more reasonable. But I beg of you to write 
to me at least once a week, and mail at Cincinnati if possi- 
ble ; let me say, however, send no letter by hand unless 
you have the utmost confidence in the rectitude and punct- 
uality of the bearer. 

We had here, last night, another terrific storm which 
lasted all night. 

" The wind blew as 'twadblawn its last ; 
The rattling showers rose on the blast ; 
That night a child might understand, 
The De'il had business on his hand." 

I have not heard of any material damage except the 
blowing down of the smoke stack of one of our transport 
fleet, and the crushing in of the frail upper works of the 
boat. A number of tents were blown down and the occu- 
pants had the opportunity to enjoy the luxury of a shower 
bath without depleting their pockets in payment of" it 
This time I happened not to be of the number At our 
last move before reaching the neighborhood of Vicksburg 
my tent in the " confusion worse confounded," of our 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 207 

Quartermaster's method, was missing, and for a time I had 
the prospect of being left out in the cold, but on a final 
adjustment, one found without a name on it was assigned 
to me, and it has proved to be one of the olden time, 
carded and spun and woven under the old dynasty when 
" cotton was king," and it is thoroughly impervious to all 
the beating storms of wind and rain that come. The other, 
even when new, leaked like a sieve. The first thing I did 
after putting it up was to have my name, rank, and regi- 
ment, painted on it very conspicuously, so as to prevent any 
good fellow from putting in a prior claim to it. 

The storm kept me awake until near day, when I got an 
hour or two of troubled sleep, during which time I revisited 
Burlington and met all my old friends in your ma's parlor. 
The interview was closed with a little bit of declamation 
by Cora, "In my mind's eye, " I see her now, aS I saw 
her in my sleep. She was dressed in white, with a green 
sash over her right shoulder, which was fastened on the 
left side with a pink rosette. Her declamation was in the 
most graceful style and gave general satisfaction. Kiss the 
little witch for me. 

Our camp is in a grove of pecan trees, and on bright, 
warm days every bush is alive with feathered songsters. 
Most noticeable among them all is the mocking bird, which 
flits from bough to bough, and imitates every sound it hears. 
It seems as restless in its motions as changeable in its songs. 
Since the cold snap set in its voice is mute ; they having all 
sought the shelter of the leafy hedges around us. To me 
they appear very social, and are easily captured. Many of 
men constructed traps, and now have imprisoned birds. 
I hold it to be a great wrong, as they sit and mope away 
the day without uttering a single note. If captured young 
and caged they soon learn to imitate all the sounds they 
hear, but if taken when full grown and confined, they pine, 
and pine, and mutely die. 



208 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

I spent an hour this evening with Mrs. Brashear ; she is 
improving very decidedly, and is now able to sit up half 
the day, and yesterday she rode out for half an hour, her 
first horse-back exercise since we left Memphis. All who 
sicken here rally slowly, but I have great pleasure in saying 
to you that the health of the army is much better than it 
was two months since. 

My health is good. Love to all, with kisses to the chil- 
dren. Yours truly, 



Richmond, Louisiana, April 3, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — Yours of the 22d March reached me last 
evening, and relieved me of fears, which, in spite of all 
my endeavors, I could not help but entertain. 

I had not heard, until you mentioned it in your last, of 
the death of Mr. Vawter. I was sorry to hear of the 
loss, as Kentucky can just now ill afford to lose a man 
whose vote or influence might be relied on in favor of pre- 
serving the national life. But God wills, and man must 
submit. 

The papers report Kentucky as likely to be the theatre 
of military operations again. If so, I trust a little more 
vigor and force will be displayed in ridding the State of 
rebels than heretofore. It is a shame and a reproach to 
the State to permit such a band of plundering miscreants to 
go unwhipped of justice, as have for months been commit- 
ting depredations in the eastern portion of the State. The 
news of to-day is that they have burned Mount Sterling; 
if this be true, the marauding rascals should be hunted from 
the earth with unsparing rigor. 

Say to Doctor for me, that I see here no evi- 
dence of demoralization in the army; on the contrary, 
this branch of the grand army of the Nation was never in 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 209 

such good fighting trim. The proclamation has not di- 
minished the ardor or the will of any but cowards and 
renegades. A few such have availed themselves of it as 
a pretext on which to abandon positions they were un- 
worthy to fill, and their occupancy of which was a stigma 
and reproach to the army. In getting rid of such men we 
have had a happy riddance. Allow me to suggest to the 
Doctor that ''the wish was father to the thought." 

Our present location is twelve miles from the - river. 
The town is about the size of Burlington, and is the seat 
of justice of Madison Parish. A citizen who refused to 
leave his home told me yesterday, that only five families 
remain in the town, most of the men being in the rebel 
army. We came out on the first, and the 22d is assigned 
to duty as Provost Guard. On our way here we passed 
through a very fertile district with some pleasant res- 
idences, and best of all, the owners still occupying them. 
On the river all are abandoned. 

I wish you could see some of the magnificent oaks 
left standing in the farm-house yards here. They are a 
different species to any in your latitude, surpass them in 
size, are perfect in symmetry of outline, and take them al- 
together, would singly and alone make a picture, a grand 
picture, which one would never tire in looking at. 

I am now "up in the morning early" getting ready to 
return to the " Bend" to look after some of our sick, left 
behind in hospital, and whilst my breakfast has been cook- 
ing I have been scribbling, but must now close. I can't, 
by to-day's mail, send answers to Julia's and Willie's let- 
ters ; give them my thanks for their favors, and say that 
I will write soon to both of them. 

Remember me kindly to enquiring friends not forgetting 
aunt Lydia and Martha. Love to all. 
Yours truly, 



210 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, April 3, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — -I wrote to you this morning at Richmond, 
in which letter I mentioned my purpose to visit our sick 
here during the day. Reaching here early and learning 
the probable return of Doctor and Mrs. Brashear, North, I 

write again, and will entrust this to Mrs. B . The 

Doctor is constrained to ask a leave of absence because 
of ill health. I think, notwithstanding some grave symp- 
toms, it only requires relaxation from his onerous duties 
to restore him to health in a short time. 

I requested Mrs. Brashear to visit you on reaching Cin- 
cinnati, but she thinks she will not be able to do so, as she 
has "nothing to wear." Her time, she says, will be wholly 
occupied in procuring a new outfit, she having lost all her 
wardrobe, as she declares to me, since coming South. You 
may rest assured she is in a much more deplorable condi- 
tion than was ever Flora McFlimsey of poetic renown. As 
you have been blessed by nature with a fair share of femi- 
nine curiosity I know you will avail yourself of the oppor- 
tunity to see with so little expense a lusus natur<z, and so 
will visit the city when you receive this. Remember, 
" Beauty unadorned, is adorned the most." 

Mrs. B will endorse on the envelope where she may 

be found. After writing the above I handed it to Mrs. 
Brashear to read, that she might know what would be ex- 
pected of her, and she consents to all the terms. And 
now I know you will visit the city, and take with you all 
the babies. 

My sick here are doing well. 

The day is glorious with sunshine. The air, laden as 
it is with the fragrance of the wild rose and the locust 
— both of them now in full bloom — is balm. 

The free denizens of the air, the feathered songsters, 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 211 

from all the hedge-rows, and groves beside the road, with 

ceaseless twitter, carol their roundelays of love. 

I am now just ready to return to camp. 

Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



Richmond, Louisiana, April 9, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — I have just learned that an oppportunity, 
a safe one, will present in the morning to send a letter to 
the river, and I avail myself of it. 

I forwarded yesterday letters to Julia and Willie, and 
have now but little to say. Long before this reaches you I 
suppose you will have heard from Sumner and my remit- 
tance. The Paymaster is at work again, paying the troops 
to the first of March. The regiment was paid to-day, and 
I will be to-morrow, and as I do not desire to keep with me 
much money, I will send to you by the first opportunity 
two hundred and fifty dollars. 

Mr. Sumner settled for my suit at Memphis, though I 
have not as yet received it. I have not had a new one 
since entering the service. The one bought then is 
much worn, but having been of good material, it has 
preserved its color, and still looks passably well. My 
boots present the shabbiest appearance of anything I wear. 
They are in holes and gray as badgers. My holy boots 
helped me the other day, or rather the other night, to a 
conundrum which amused my friends here some, so I will 
give it you. Why is a pair of old and holy boots, like to 
Harper's Magazine ? Do you give it up ? Because they 
are a very good media in which to ventilate one's under- 
standings. It was not made up of premeditation, but was 
forced into my cranium through my heels by a sharp night 
wind during one of our recent night marches, and I mean 



212 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

to treat the feet — mind you, not the brain — on the very first 
opportunity to a bran splinter new pair of boots for doing 
brain work. Now I rather think you won't again say I 
don't write frivolity. 

What is doing in Kentucky? We hear that Burnside is 
driving the rebels before him, but at this distance I know 
not what to believe. Here great activity prevails ; troops 
are daily passing this place for New Carthage, twenty miles 
below Vicksburg by the river. The rebels say we can't 
make the trip in consequence of the flood, and I fear we 
can't. Grant is, I believe, striking a blow at rebeldom at 
all available points in his department. I think, however, I 
have seen evidences of a want of fore-sight displayed by 
government and commanders, but I will try and not be 
censorious. 

The general health of the troops is just now better than 
at any time since my connection with the army. My report 
this morning was five men sick in hospital, three of whom 
are walking round, and two in quarters. I have the same 
favorable report to make for other regiments except the 
new levies, which are suffering still. 
Yours truly, 



Richmond, Louisiana, April 10, 1863. 
Dear Delia, — Your favor of 31st March came to hand 
this evening, and as it has to be acknowledged, I will at 
once follow the injunction of one of my Dutch patrons of 
Boone, who never tired in bringing out his apothegm, nor 
I in eliciting it. "When a thing has to be did, it had 
better did at once." Where will you find in the same 
compass more wisdom ? Lay it to heart and be governed 
by it, and your life, rather your calling in life, will be an 
assured success. But let me say a thing is hard to "did" 
without materials out of which to " did " it. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 213 

I have nothing to write about, absolutely nothing of in- 
terest to you. To say that I am in the midst of a beauti- 
ful, fertile country, that is suffering all the hardships of 
war, is only to repeat what you already know. This vil- 
lage is the seat of justice of Madison Parish; it is twelve 
miles from the river; and is situated on what is called 
Roundaway Bayou, which I can describe only by saying : 

It runneth north, it runneth south, 
It runneth east, it runneth west, 
It runneth round the cuckoo's nest ; 

and thence it runneth its way back to its source the 
"Father of Waters," not very far from its origin. May 
your life and mine be just as happy in their termini, "in 
the bosom of our father and our God." 

I have beside me, a little testimonial of regard from one 
of the ladies of the town. I was called to vaccinate her 
children, and declined any remuneration for the service 
rendered ; other than a kiss from the prattling innocents, 
and the mother in gratitude for the favor sent me this 
morning a bouquet of early blooming flowers done up 
quite artistically, and with it her compliments in a note, 
neatly and happily expressed. 

Among the ladies of« the town are some very bitter 
talkers, and one of them two days since exhausted all her 
resources in an effort to force me into a political talk, but 
I avoided it, by proposing to talk of something about 
which we could agree. She was from Kentucky twenty 
years back, and knew Uncle Edward well, and had often 
sat under his ministry as a member of the church in which 
he officiated as pastor. I was very careful, however, not 
to say to her that he sympathized with her in favor of re- 
bellion. After an hour spent in comparing recollections 
of the dear old State, and when I was about to withdraw, 
she approached me and said very earnestly that she must 
shake hands with me on parting. Now was not that better 



2i 4 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

than holding a heated political colloquy, and then parting 
displeased, if not angry with each other? 

Allow me a word to say in regard to your health. Wear 
flannel next to your skin constantly; use a flesh brush 
freely, and a stiff one at that; be much in the open air; 
take exercise regularly in walking, running, jumping, skip- 
ping, dancing, and making merry generally. Eat heartily 
whatever you can readily digest, and then you will do. 
There is no propriety in moping out life, a burden to your- 
self, and a source of solicitude and anxiety to all round 
you. When you next write I hope to hear you are improv- 
ing, and that your grandmother, father, mother, and sister 
are all well. Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



Richmond, Louisiana, April 11, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — Yours of 28th March came to hand this 
evening, and I will do you the justice to say that in it you 
have administered one of the neatest reproofs I have ever 
read, done up in good style, and in the best temper imagi- 
nable. I am glad to have drawn it out. 

You will have received your second formal note long be- 
fore this reaches you, but I hope, formal as it was, there was 
in it something to clear up the countenance of a "sullen, 
sulky dame," in the way of material aid that will convince 
you that I care some for "wife, children, and friends." 

I visited the " Bend" again yesterday intending to send 
two hundred and fifty dollars to you by Doctor Brashear, 

but on reaching the river, I found that he and Mrs. B 

had started up the day before. I entrusted the funds to 
the Adams Express Co. , with orders to deposit in bank at 
Covington. I send their receipt. 

I was not aware until your present letter so informed 
me that had gone down into Dixie in pursuit of 



LETTERS FR OM THE ARMY. 2 1 5 

lost rights. I hope he may find them, and in future take 
good care of them. The death of is not at all un- 
expected to me. In temperament he was impulsive and 
rash. If there be a God who rules the destinies of man 
(and I most solemnly believe it) the punishment was 
needed by some of the black-coated gentry of Boone, 
who are in a great measure responsible for his death. An- 
guish and remorse will gnaw at the vitals of their con- 
sciences if they are not dead to sensibility. I must close, 
and go to bed. Love to all, with many kisses to the chil- 
dren and kind greetings to enquiring friends. 
Yours truly, 



James Plantation, Louisiana, 
Aprils, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — Here we are fifty miles below Vicksburg, 
by the river, though only thirty-five from Milliken's Bend 
by the land route we have traveled. 

We are executing the strangest military movement, 
through the strangest country imaginable. The half of 
Grant's army is now below Vicksburg, and is traveling 
down into Dixie along a narrow levee, hemmed in with 
water on each side, and with space barely sufficient to set 
up tents between the roadway and the water. What it all 
means I know not, but I fear our communications in the 
mail line will be cut off. I hope, however, you will give 
yourself no trouble about my personal safety. I will take 
the best care of myself possible, and then leave results to 
Providence. 

Yours of the 2nd and 4th both reached me this morning. 
How cruel of you to write me such a formal note after my 
ample apology for my business letters. I will remember 
you for it. You give me very little local news from the 



216 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

county. I think you might afford me a letter every day 
filled with little incidents about home. Give Cora a kiss 
for me for every one she throws from her finger ends at 
my "counterfeit presentment." Would to God I could 
do so myself, but that, you know, I can't without I disgrace 
myself by teaching and preaching treason, rather than which 
I would welcome death. 

I wrote to you from the Holmes plantation, where we 
paused a day after leaving Richmond, and whilst there I 
visited, in company with Major Worthington, one of the 
most beautiful flower gardens and lawns that I have ever 
seen anywhere. It is on the Dawson plantation, and is 
very extensive. Sauntering through the walks and 
grounds, admiring the flowers and the shrubbery and the 
stately shade trees, I was made witness to the digging up 
of a monster gun, unlike anything I had before seen, by 
a private of the 6th Missouri Infantry. I gave the man 
six dollars for his prize, and reported it at regimental, 
brigade and division headquarters, and was by all author- 
ized to retain it. I will send it home by the first safe 
opportunity. 

I am sorry now that I called for a box of supplies, as I 
have no thought of receiving it. Sumner may reach the 
Bend with it, but he will be compelled to leave it there 
and that will be the last of it. 

Health good. Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



Campaign in rear of Vicksburg, 
Big Sandy, Mississippi, 

May 8, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — Yours of the 18th April reached me a 
few minutes since, and I answer at once as we are expect- 
ing orders to move. I wrote to you last on the 26th 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 217 

April, from the Perkins plantation on the west side of the 
river, which camp we left on the 27th, and were marched 
down the levee to a point nearly opposite to Grand Gulf, 
where the troops were halted for some hours to witness a 
grand artillery duel between the rebel works and our gun- 
boats, eight in number. 

The day was beautifully clear, and at ten and a half the 
boats under command of Captain Porter, steamed down 
and were ranged in pistol shot distance of the batteries, 
when the ball opened, and for four and a half hours an 
incessant cannonading was kept up on both sides. It 
was a grand exhibition of pluck and endurance on the 
part of the boats, but they failed to silence the rebel bat- 
teries, and at three and a half p. m. they drew off, not 
very materially damaged. The infantry continued their 
march down the river the same evening. The gunboats 
with six transports ran the blockade after night ; two of 
the latter being pretty thoroughly cut up. We made the 
east side of the river fifteen miles below Grand Gulf, at 
Hard Times at eleven a. m. on the 30th. At three p. m. 
our march was resumed, to get in the rear of the works at 
the Gulf, and by this route, in the rear of Vicksburg. The 
rebels, aware of Grant's movements, blew up their maga- 
zines, spiked their guns, and falling back from the Gulf, 
attempted to arrest our onward march, which was con- 
tinued throughout the night. Cannon firing commenced 
about twelve midnight, and was kept up at intervals until 
near daylight. The first rebel shot was intended to en- 
filade our line when in a deep cut in the road, but fortu- 
nately for the 22nd the gun was not sufficiently depressed 
to rake us ; the missiles passed harmlessly, just over our 
heads, and the battery was driven from its position imme- 
diately. The troops lay down to rest at four and a half, 
and were called up at six o'clock. Many of the men did 
not close their eyes; I certainly did not mine. At eight in 



218 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

the morning, May 1st, commenced a battle which raged all 
day, but ended with the going down of the sun, in a de- 
cided triumph to our arms. Grant took during the day, 
every battery the enemy had on the field but one, and 
drove them from their chosen positions with great loss and 
demoralization to their troops engaged. A thousand pris- 
oners were captured, of whom the officers seem to be ex- 
tremely bitter in feeling. 

Look to your map ; we are here some twenty miles from 
Jackson, the capital of the State, and twenty-five from 
Vicksburg. Both parties are gathering strength for 
another blow, which must come soon — in a day or two — 
and if we are successful, Vicksburg is ours. I give that as 
my judgment; and after that I will see you if I have to 
resign to do so. 

When we left the Perkins plantation, on the other side 
of the river, all officers under the grade of Brigadier-Gen- 
eral were dismounted and compelled to leave horses, traps, 
and every thing but what they could carry on their backs, 
and foot it to this point. Yesterday my horse reached me, 
and to-day the traps of all the field and staff of our regi- 
ment but mine, came up. I fear I will never see them 
again, as there seems to be inextricable confusion in the 
Quartermaster's department. If they be lost I will soon 
have to put myself in Tom Benton's brigade of " rough, 
ragged, and ready boys." I have slept every night since 
reaching this side of the river in the open air, without tent, 
and during that time we have had one blustering, stormy 
night, but with my great-coat and gum cape I managed to 
keep dry. 

This is quite a hilly region, and I have been surprised to 
find growing here, side by side, the beech, the elm, the 
maple, the sugar tree, the oak, the sycamore, and the pine. 
The soil is rather thin and poor, but the country is one of 
much beauty, and, if I were to recast my fortune in the 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 219 

South, I would much prefer a location here in the hills to 
one on the river. 

On the morning of the battle I picked up a contraband, 
nineteen or twenty years old, and pressed him into my 
service. My servant, a trusty fellow, I left behind in charge 
of my horse and traps. My great-coat, gum cape, and 
other indispensables, I had found the night before quite a 
burden to me. In addition I had my case of instruments, 
all making more than I was willing longer to care for; so I 
strapped my case of instruments to my contraband and 
ordered him to accompany me during the day. Just after 
breakfast surgeons Pomerene, Witt, and myself, were de- 
tailed to select grounds for hospital purposes, and whilst we 
were conferring on the subject, in the yard at Thompson's 
House, a masked rebel battery, not a fourth of a mile off, 
opened on us with shell and grape. The shot flew thick and 
fast all around us, and we left without standing on the order 
of our going. My contraband, with my instruments, did not 
put in an appearance again until after the battle was " lost 
and won," when I said to him : " You rascal! where have 
you been hiding all day ?" His response was : ' ' Oh, massa, 
we niggers can't stand shootin' at like you white folks no 
how." Now the fun of the thing is, we all ran. 

Love to all and kisses to the children. 

Yours truly, 



[The army here was subsisting on the resources of the country. 
General Grant threw his force to the East side of the river with 
only two or three days' rations. As a result, officers who had to 
provide for themselves were often reduced to short commons. Two 
days after the date of my last letter I handed my contraband a 
couple of dollars, just after breakfast, and told him to go out 
among his friends and lay in a supply for my larder ; noon passed 
without his putting in an appearance, and so for the supper hour, 
when I invited myself to a vacant seat at Major Worthington's mess 



220 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

table. I had just finished a hearty repast when he appeared with 
two fine, fat young hens, well-cooked, and a huge " pone " of corn 
bread. I said to him that he was too late, and that I did not just 
then want his supplies, and ordered him to my quarters. 

At breakfast next morning I found only coffee and some scraps 
of corn bread. On asking for the fowls, he said : " Oh, I eat him 
up." " What ! not two whole fowls and all that bread?" " Yes, 
massa, I tot you say you no want him, and dis nigger did, and I 
eat him all up." I felt myself unequal to the occasion, and only 
said that he must seek service where the exchequer and the larder 
would be found more in accordance with his gastronomic capacity. 
I never saw him after that morning. 

After the battle fought on Thompson's hill the army was moved 
North of Port Gibson to its position on the Big Sandy. On the 
route I amused myself one day in observing the excited gesticula. 
tionand in listening to the extravagant language of the negro popu- 
lation, assembled on the roadside as we passed. An old woman, 
apparently of seventy, gave exultant expression to her emotions by 
clapping her hands and exclaiming : " Bless de Lord, I didn't tink 
der was so many men in all de world. De ' Federacy am done gone 
up, bless de Lord." Pausing to talk with this same old woman, I 
asked who owned the property ? " Master Smith, massa." "B. B. 
Smith," said I, ''formerly, of Georgetown, Ky?" "Yes, massa." 
"And did you ever live there ? " " Oh yes, massa, all my life till 
I corned down here twenty years ago." Then, giving my name, 
I said: "You know all my family? I was raised there and the 
family before me." "Bless de Lord, massa, I knowed dem all; 
knowed your mamma when she was a gal." She called up all her 
descendants of three generations to introduce them to Massa 
Stevenson, from Georgetown, Ky. 

I was assigned for duty during the day as Superintendent of Sani- 
tary Supplies, with instructions to see that ample supplies of soup 
should be held in readiness for the emergencies of battle. Capt. 
Patterson with his company was directed to report to me. We 
found running at large a herd of hundreds of fat catttle, and I 
ordered him to pitch in, kill and deliver at quarters twenty-five 
bullocks, which was accomplished and distributed to the different 
brigade quarters by 11 A. M., and for one battle the wounded of 
our entire force engaged was amply supplied with needed sub- 
sistence. 






LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 221 

At three p. m. I learned that Lieutenant F. C. Robb, of Com- 
pany C, was wounded, and, borrowing a horse of Surgeon Pomer- 
ene, I rode out to the field. Major Worthington, in command of 
Companies B and C, had been directed to support the 1st Michigan 
battery, and here the Lieutenant was wounded. There, learning 
that one of our men on the skirmish line between the opposing 
batteries was severely wounded, I secured a stretcher and with a 
file of soldiers I went out on the line for him. Whilst bearing him 
back to his company, General Grant, attended by a single orderly, 
came across us, making his way to Osterhaus' part of the line. 
He paused a moment and asked a question or two, when I sug- 
gested to him to bear a little to the right to avoid the ravine from 
which we had brought the wounded soldier, and which he would 
have found somewhat difficult to cross on horseback. 

We remained, watching the General mount the opposite hill, 
and listening to the prolonged cheering with which he was re- 
ceived ; and a minute later we saw Osterhaus' troops pour along 
the ridge with a yell, and capture the last gun the enemy still 
held on the field, and the battle was won. 

This was my second and last sight of General Grant ; and it has 
always been with me a matter of surprise to see the General-in- 
Chief of a large army riding from wing to wing, accompanied by a 
single orderly only. Half an hour earlier in the day it would have 
been attended with the danger that befell the soldier we were bear- 
ing back to his company.*] 

EXTRACT FROM GENERAL m'cLERNAND's REPORT. 
BATTLE OF CHAMPION HILL, MAY 16TH. 

" In front of my center, as well as my right, the enemy appeared 
in great numbers. Garrard's brigade was hard pressed, and Gen- 
eral Osterhaus requested that it should be supported. All of Law- 
ler's Brigade, of Carr's division, except a reserve of one regiment, 
also advanced to support Lindsey's, who had pushed a charge near 



::: In " Camp and Field," a work by Private T. D. Wolbach, of Company E, 
16th Ohio, I find the statement that the attendant on General Grant on this oc- 
sion was no less a personage than Governor Yeates, of Illinois. 

The surviving officers and soldiers of the 16th Ohio owe it to themselves, to 
the regiment, and to their comrade, to put in permanent form his " Camp and 
Field." It is brim full of facts. 



222 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

the mouth of a battery. Lawler's brigade here cast the trembling 
balance in our favor. Himself narrowly escaping the effect of a 
shell, his men joined Lindsey, and both dashed forward, shooting 
down the enemy's battery horses, driving away his gunners, and 
capturing two pieces of cannon. * * * The enemy, thus beaten 
at all points, fled in confusion, the main body along the road lead- 
ing to Vicksburg, a fragment to the left of that road. General 
Carr's Division, taking the advance, hotly pressed the former, and 
Lindsey's and Burbridge's brigades the latter, until night closed in, 
each taking many prisoners." 

EXTRACT FROM GENERAL OSTERHAUS' REPORT. 
BATTLE OF BIG BLACK RIVER BRIDGE, MAY 17TH. 

" In order to secure my flank and co-operate with General Smith 
I ordered Col. Lindsey, with the two remaining regiments of his 
brigade, 16th Ohio and 22 Ky., to take position in the edge of the- 
timber and open fire against the enemy's position. * * * Irefer 
to the Colonel's report, and take great pleasure in commending the 
action of this meritorious officer. * * * Thousands of the 
enemy were found scattered everywhere, and fell into our hands as 
prisoners of war. Col. Lindsey, with the 16th Ohio and 22d Ky. 
alone, took more prisoners than the whole numbers of his brigade 
combined." * * * 



In Hospital, in rear of Vicksburg, \ 
May 23, 1863. j 

Dear Wife, — I have not, for more than two weeks, had 
an opportunity to write to you. New events have trod so 
rapidly on the heels of the old, that I have had no time for 
any thing but my official duties. 

Since my last we have passed through an exceedingly 
active period ; on some part of our extended line a battle 
has been fought almost every day, and some days two or 
three. The conflict is determined and desperate, but I 
think we will ultimately win. We have been in our 
present position here four days, and the rattle of musketry 
and the roar of cannon have been unceasing during all that 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 223 

time. Our missiles occasionally go over the hills, on 
which the rebel works are erected, and into the city, on 
which the gun and mortar boats are pouring a ceaseless 
storm of shot and shell. I see no prospect of cessation 
short of exhaustion, as we have all staked on success. 

The 22nd has been engaged for three days, and suffered 
severely in wounded men yesterday. During the evening 
I amputated a leg for three of our boys above the knee 
and one below the knee, and four days before I did the 
same at Champion Hills for two of our men, and for one 
man of an Indiana regiment. In the same period I 
resected the upper third of the arm (Humerus) for two 
22nd men, and for one of the 42nd Ohio, and I have seen 
any amount of minor surgery. I am surfeited, sick, and 
tired of witnessing bloodshed, but nothing short of it would 
satisfy the insane men who would overthrow the govern- 
ment. I now think they have enough of it. In addition 
to our wounded of yesterday we had two men slain on the 
field. 

Since reaching this side of the river, Grant's army has 
captured seventy-one cannon of all calibres, most of them 
brass field pieces. On the 17th twenty-two pieces were 
taken "at one fell swoop" at the crossing of Black river. 
In good time you will find in the papers full details of the 
operations of this army, so I will say nothing more, than 
that on a field where there was anything like equal num- 
bers we have whipped, and under like circumstances will 
continue to whip the rebels. 

The defenses of the city are formidable and may require 
a regular siege, in which event we shall be here for some 
time to come. I fear you will charge me with thinking of 
nothing but sieges, and battles, and bloodshed, but sur- 
rounded as I am with such scenes, what else have I to 
think of? The weather here has been the most propitious 
for our operations possible. The wounded get on as finely 



224 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

as I have ever witnessed with wounded men anywhere. 
We have an occasional shower during the day which miti- 
gates the heat, and the nights are cool enough. 

I am worked up to my utmost capacity, but this you 
know I never object to. Love to all, with kisses to the 
children, and say that I soon hope to see them. Remem- 
ber me kindly to enquiring friends. 

Yours truly, 



In Hospital, in rear of Vicksburg, \ 
May 29; 1863. j 

Dear Wife, — Yours of the 8th, and Kate's of the 18th, 
reached me this afternoon, and I am much gratified to learn 
that you are all well. 

I have written but little of late, for various reasons ; 1st, 
my time has been constantly engrossed with my official 
duties, and 2d, I have no paper, and none is to be pro- 
cured here, as you may judge from my using this miserably 
soiled half sheet, yet it is the best I can do at present. 

I am here in charge of the 9th division hospital, and am 
acting senior surgeon of the division, and am detailed as 
chief operator for the same. I hope you are satisfied with 
my share of the honors; I am so much more than satisfied 
that I am extremely anxious to get back to regimental 
duties in the field, which are vastly more congenial to my 
feelings and not half so perplexing. The hospital is in the 
rear of our troops, and out of range of most of the enemy's 
guns, but near enough for the benefit of the wounded. 

I suppose I may now safely say our beleaguerment of 
the place can in the future be regarded only as a siege; 
and that no further attempt will be made to take the works 
by assault. In this view of the case we may be here for 
some weeks to come. General Grant has a line of twelve 
to fourteen miles to guard, so you see at once the necessity 
for a large army. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 225 

Cannonading and bombarding go on without intermis- 
sion. This morning at daylight the order was given for 
the opening out of all our great guns along the entire line, 
and such a din and uproar so long as it lasted, some two 
hours, language is inadequate to express. What were its 
results are as yet unknown. But amid all this uproar, 
trenching and mining, unseen by the foe, go silently and 
ceaselessly on, and erelong, unless a surrender anticipates 
it, a mine will be sprung, and a crater will open a path to 
the center of the rebel works. 

Our only danger is from heavy forces in our rear, yet I 
hope Hooker and Hunter, Banks and Rosecrans will give 
the rebels as much to do as they can manage, and if so, 
Vicksburg falls, and with it the hopes of the rebellion. 

I am still without my trunk, and, until to-day, since 
leaving the other side of the river, I have been without a 
change — except when I borrowed an extra change of shirt 
and drawers until mine could be washed and dried. One 
of the results of this delectable condition is that gray -backs 
are more abundant with me just now than greenbacks. 
"And thereby hangs a tale." 

My friend, Dr. Winnie, surgeon of one of the Illinois 
regiments, called at my quarters to-day to write a letter to 
his family, and whilst so engaged he felt a titillating sensa- 
tion on the back of his neck, and putting up his fingers he 
drew forth a little " crawlin' ferlie." Not to be outdone in 
my own quarters, I drew on my resources in the same line, 
and had the draft honored. The doctor dotted the inci- 
dent down and read it over to me, when I begged him to 
present my respects to his lady, and say to her that I do not 
permit any of my professional brethren to beat me in my 
own quarters at any game. 

I hope our " bonnie spouses" may have no nearer ac- 
quaintance with — 

"Ye ugly, creepin, blastit wonner, 
Detested, shunned by saunt and sinner." 



226 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Our better halves will of course be the saints; here, if we 
were all simmered down to one great resulting compound, 
I think enough of good could not be found by all the 
doctors of the canon law to make one good saint ; though 
canon law, proclaimed from wide-open mouths, and with 
tongues of flame, just now dominates over all here. 

The days are moderately warm, the nights decidedly 
cool. My health is good, though I am always glad when 
night comes, as by that time I am thoroughly fatigued. 

Love to all, with kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



INVESTMENT AND ASSAULT OF VICKSBURG. 
EXTRACT FROM GENERAL M'CLERNAND's REPORT. 

"Col. Lindsey's brigade followed the forward movement under 
orders to support and strengthen any part of Gen. A. L. Lee's 
line if necessary. 

At two o'clock all the batteries fired three volleys (the signal for 
the assault) and the Infantry began the advance. They climbed 
the steep hills before them in the most brilliant style, and marched 
over the brow of the ridge through a raking fire. The extremely 
irregular ground, and the situation of the objects of attack made 
the direction of the advance of the 1st brigade bear to the left, and 
of course it created a gap in the line of attack between my com- 
mand and that of General Smith, on my right. Under my orders, 
Colonel Lindsey at once inserted his brigade into this opening, and 
the whole division now advanced steadily and gallantly against a 
most fearful fire from the enemy's rifle pits and batteries, which 
commanded, mostly by cross fire, every hill, every ravine, gully, 
and gorge, leading to the fortifications. * * * 

May 20th, 21st. Our skirmishers advanced over the difficult 
ground slowly but steadily, so that on the evening of May 21st 
they were at no place more than 500 yards from the enemy's works. 

At six P. M. of the 21st an order from headquarters advised me 
officially of a general assault to be made on the next morning at 
ten o'clock by the whole line. * * * 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 227 

My line was formed as follows: right column, 22cl Kentucky 
and 42d Ohio ; center column, 114th Ohio and 69th Indiana ; left 
column, 7th Kentucky and 118th Illinois. Precisely at ten o'clock 
the column moved forward, breaking over all obstructions at the 
foot and on the slope of the hills, and against a terrific fire from 
all their rifle pits and forts. The 7th, leading the left column, ad- 
vanced to the top of the hill, and marched over the naked brow 
of it through a murderous fire from the great redoubt on the left, 
suffering heavily. All the columns reached the top of the hill, and 
came so near the works that orders given on the enemy's side could 
be distinctly heard by our men. The officers and men acted most 
courageously, but finding new obstacles, not seen before, would 
impede their further advance, the column halted to rest, availing 
themselves of the irregularities of the ground for shelter. In 
enumerating those who greatly distinguished themselves on this 
occasion, General Osterhaus mentions among others the names of 
Colonel Lindsey and Lieutenant-Colonel Monroe, the latter com- 
manding the 22d Kentucky, and Colonel Lucas commanding the 
7th Kentucky." 



In Hospital, in rear of Vicksburg, Mississippi, \ 

June 5, 1863. j 

Dear Wife, — " It never rains but it pours," came true 
again yesterday. Your box, together with my long delayed 
traps and my new suit of clothes, all came safely up ; that 
is, they came up, but the contents of the box were some- 
what damaged. The jar of quince preserves was broken, 
and the syrup mixing with the dried fruits ruined them . 
this was the extent of the damage done. The substantials 
were all right and I thank you for them. 

Our approaches from this time may be regarded only as 
a siege. Vicksburg will fall, and great will be the fall 
thereof. It will be equivalent to the overthrow of the re- 
bellion and the return of peace throughout the land. 
There may be some battles afterwards, but no great con- 
flict, I think, unless it be at Charleston, which ought to be 
reduced to terms, or to ashes. 



228 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

The hospital over which I preside is a bivouac in the 
yard of a retired Vicksburg merchant ; a man of north- 
ern Massachusetts birth and education, but withal a rebel 
in feeling and sentiment. He does not hesitate to say to 
those who talk with him that he hopes to witness our 
repulse. I hold no intercourse with him further than 
formal courtesy demands. A member of his family applied 
to me a few days since for permission to purchase supplies 
for their table from the hospital allowance, alleging that 
they were prohibited from going beyond our lines for 
such a purpose. Having no authority to act in the 
premises, I was compelled to refuse the permission asked, 
but referred him to the commissary department. I com- 
promised with my feelings on the subject by making a 
pretty fair division of your supplies with the family. In- 
closed you have the acknowledgment of a member of the 
family. I hope you are satisfied with the disposition made 
of your good things. I can make out very well on what 
the boys call hard-tack, and was more than gratified to 
soften the inevitable rigors of war to the female members 
of the family, whom I can only commiserate. 

I sent North this week by Col. John Cradlebaugh, my 
only trophy, the monster gun mentioned in one of my 
former letters. He will leave it with Dr. Wood. Let it 
remain with him until my return home. 

My health is good as usual, and the condition of the 
wounded admirable. They are in the open air, under 
arbors, made by laying poles from fork to fork set in the 
ground, and then roofing with cane or fishing reed. The 
protection from the sun is perfect, and the ventilation 
thorough, but when a hard shower of rain comes on they 
have to take it, as they have only their rubber spreads as 
a shelter ; but they are doing much better than they possi- 
bly could on crowded hospital boats. 

Much love, and many kisses to the children. 

Yours truly, 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 229 

Headquarters 13th Army Corps, Near Vicksburg, ) 

Juneh, 1863. J 

Governor, — I have the honor to inform you that there 
are two general officers and three regiments, the 7th, 19th 
and 22d Kentucky, in the 13th Army Corps, Department 
of the Tennessee, under my command who crossed the Mis- 
sissippi river with me at Bruinsburg, below Grand Qulf, on 
the 30th day of April, and who took part in the battles of 
Thompson's Hill, on the 1st of May ; Champion Hills on 
the 16th ; Big Black Bridge on the 17th of May ; and at 
Vicksburg, beginning on the 19th of May and continuing 
up to the present time. 

I am most happy, sir, to congratulate you, and, through 
you, your noble State, for the victories won by the com- 
mon efforts of her brave sons with those of sister States ; 
and to bear testimony to the gallantry, bravery and good 
conduct of her officers and men in all these bloody strug- 
gles. They bore themselves with the unflinching steadi- 
ness of veterans, both under galling fires of artillery and 
musketry, and in making charges upon fortified lines. 

They have shown themselves compeers and fit com- 
panions in arms with brave men of sister States in a series 
of battles, in which it has become impossible to make par- 
ticular mention of those who distinguished themselves 
without mentioning individually, both officers and men. 
Your most obedient servant, 

JOHN A. McCLERNAND, 
Major Gen. Com. 13th Army Corps, Dept. of the Tenn. 
His Excellency, James F. Robinson, 

Governor of Kentucky. 



In Hospital, in rear of Vicksburg, Mississippi, 

June 12, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — My natal day has come and gone again, 

and I have entered on my fifty-second year. Yesterday 



230 LETTERS FROM THE ARM\. 

was my birthday. * Amid all the desolations of war I have 
much to be grateful for, certainly for health preserved. 
Not more than half the medical officers of the army with 
whom I became acquainted at Memphis last fall are now 
at their posts. Some have died, some resigned in conse- 
quence of ill health, and many have been furloughed home 
for the same cause. If I can't manage to get up a little sick 
of some sort after the fall of Vicksburg, I may have diffi- 
culty in getting home, as leaves of absence and resigna- 
tions are granted and accepted only on such grounds. 
The rule, I hope, will be relaxed after the accomplishment 
of the great work in which we are engaged. 

Our operations are simply those of siege and we are not 
receiving much injury from the enemy, though a good deal 
of infantry firing is all the day in progress, and nightly the 
siege guns open out and keep up a continuous roar all night 
long. The enemy do very little firing, and we hope they 
are running short of ammunition. A negro man was ar- 
rested three days since attempting to make his way through 
our lines with a hundred thousand percussion caps for the 
rebels ; and two days since a young lady from Vicksburg 
was captured in her effort to get out with a most urgent 
call from General Pemberton to General Johnston for help, 
saying he must be relieved or he would be compelled to 
surrender in a week. I tell the tale just as it was told to 
me at corps headquarters by Col. Scatts. 

I hope nobody will feel much solicitude in regard to the 
situation here. Grant's rear is now impregnable to any 
force the rebels can bring up and subsist, and the fall of 
Vicksburg is as sure and certain as the lapse of time. 

I am still retained in charge of division hospital, very 
much against my inclinations, and, somewhat in violation 
of regulations, but there are so many absentees and vacan- 
cies I endeavor to submit patiently to more than my due 
share of labor for the present. Did I ever say to you 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 231 

that a Second Assistant Surgeon to the 22d reached us at 
Richmond, Louisiana ? He was attacked with diarrhoea in 
a week after joining the regiment, and three days since he 
was furloughed north. It was necessary to do so to pre- 
serve his life. This may have some influence in prevent- 
ing my obtaining a leave of absence. Manfred also is far 
from being well. I do hope the regiment will be ordered 
North on the fall of Vicksburg. 

Love to all with kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



In Hospital in rear of Vicksburg, Mississippi, \ 

June 14, 1863. j 

Dear Wife, — I wrote to you two nights since, but this 
evening found the letter in one of my pockets. My 
duties here are so perplexing and exacting that I would 
not be much surprised at a total forgetfulness of friends 
and home. 

Did you see in a recent number of the Cincinnati 
Commercial, the death of Surgeon Stevenson of one of the 
Illinois regiments announced ? I have not seen it, but Mr. 
Sumner said to me this morning that he had just read it. 
I feared you would think there had been a mistake, and 
that I was the unfortunate man. I protest solemnly " be- 
fore all the world and the rest of mankind," that I am not 
only alive, but kicking most lustily. The fated sisters 
three have not clipped the silver cord for me. Charon 
"phantom grim" has not ferried me over the gloomy 
Styx. This is not indited in the happy Elysian fields 

where — 

"The melancholy ghosts of dead renown, 

Whispering faint echoes of the world's applause, 

With penitential aspect as they pass, 

All point to earth, and hiss at human pride 

The wisdom of the wise, and prancings of the great;" 



232 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

but rather on this mundane "bank and shoal of time," 
amid the resounding roar of cannon, the hurtling shriek of 
shells, and the sullen boom of "bombs bursting in air," 
and with most abundant evidences of man's mortality all 
round me. 

Our operations go on in the quiet ceaseless manner men- 
tioned in former letters; relieved, however, occasionally 
by a sudden outburst of cannonading which wakes us all 
up with a start. 

One such has been going on for three or four hours 
past: what it means I know not. But this I do know, 
our men are not getting hurt, as not one wounded man 
has been brought in from our division during the day. We 
are anxiously expecting Pemberton to send out a flag with 
propositions of surrender; he will have it to do, and the 
dictates of humanity demand the arrest of a useless 
struggle. 

I can only repeat what I have before said. Grant's rear 
is impregnable to any force the enemy can bring and sub- 
sist here, and before the means can be organized by the 
rebels to transport subsistence for a large army the town 
must surrender or starve. Less than a hundred thousand 
men in our rear would I think, have no affect in dislodging 
Grant; so, viewed every way, I consider the position safe. 

In a former letter I said our hospital is a bivouac in the 
yard of a retired Vicksburg merchant. It is a beautiful 
location in a grove of stately beech and mulberry trees. 
The garden is a model of beauty ; situated on a south hill 
side, and graded in squares, and the descent from terrace 
to terrace, is by successive flights of steps. The walks are 
wide, well graded and graveled and lined on each side with 
hedges of arbor vitce trimmed in the most artistic fashion. 
The squares are all large, and in the center of each is a 
cluster of roses, honeysuckle, crape myrtle, cape jasmine 
and other flowering plants to me unknown and unnamable. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 233 

The season for the blackberry has almost passed, but 
that of the peach and fig is just setting in. I will try to 
eat enough of both fruits for all of you, just as I always in- 
dulge in fruit, from a sense of duty, not that I am particu- 
larly fond of it. 

I enclose a little official document returned to me this 
evening, which I hope you will keep as a memento for the 
future. One name among them, like the fly in amber, 
may be preserved by the imperishable media in which it is 
embalmed. 

Love to all, with many kisses. 

Yours truly, 






Smith Hospital, June 13, 1863. 
Lieut. -Col. W. B. Scatts, 

A. A. G. IZth Army Corps. 

Sir, — Michael Hannegan, a captured rebel prisoner and 

an inmate of the 9th division hospital, wishes to take the 

oath of allegiance to the government of the United States ; 

and be permitted to go North. What shall I do with him ? 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

B. F. STEVENSON, 
Surgeon, in charge of hospital. 

Headquarters 13th Army Corps, June 13, 1863. 
Respectfully referred to Department headquarters for 
instructions. 

JOHN A. McCLERNAND, 
Major General Com' ding. 

Headquarters of the Tennessee, near Vicksburg, ) 

June 14, 1863. j 

Under instructions from the Secretary of War, the oath 
of allegiance cannot be administered to prisoners of war. 

16 



234 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

All persons captured as prisoners of war must be sent North 
as such. 

By order of Major-General Grant, 

JNO. A. RAWLINS, 

A. A. G. 

Headquarters 22d Kentucky Infantry, \ 
Near Vicksburg, June 22, 1863. j 

Dear Wife, — Since my last my bivouac hospital for the 
9th Division has been broken up. The well were returned 
to their regiments ; the convalescent to other hospitals in 
the neighborhood, and the sick and wounded by boat to 
General Hospital, at Memphis. 

It engrossed all my time for two days to secure from 
company officers, of the different regiments represented in 
hospital, descriptive lists to accompany their men, and after 
every effort in my power, numbers were sent to boat with- 
out the proper papers. But the order to clear the grounds 
was imperative, and had to be obeyed. We were three 
days engaged forwarding the sick and wounded to the boats 
in the Yazoo River, a distance of fourteen miles. 

I believe I have not before said to you that among my 
wounded were Major Findley, of the 69th Indiana, and 
Captain Barber, of the 42d Ohio. The former was shot 
through the right lung, and the latter had a Minie ball to 
crash its way through one of his ankle joints, shattering 
bones very much, and requiring amputation. Both of 
them wounded on the 22d of May. Feeling much solici- 
tude for the safe conveyance of both of them, I accompa- 
nied the train of ambulances the day they were forwarded 
to boat. And thus I had the opportunity to pass over the 
ground fought over and baptized with the blood of our 
boys on the 29th of December last. I took with me my 
field glass, and overlooked the field of battle from every 
available standpoint. The network of fallen timber was so 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 235 

intricate that no body of troops could assault in column. 
To have attempted such a thing on the road constructed 
by the enemy, and which was thoroughly commanded by 
their batteries, would simply have been walking into a 
nicely set rebel trap ; nor could any deployed line of troops 
have reached the objective points on concurring time. 
The repulse was inevitable. 

The mention of Captain Barber leads me on to tell what 
occurred two days after his misfortune. Dr. Pomerene, of 
the 42d Ohio, is senior surgeon of the division, and he was 
then on duty. Some call took him twelve miles in the 
rear the same evening, when, being next in rank, the 
charge of the hospital devolved on me. The next day but 
one after his departure I saw the medical director of the 
13th Army Corps coming to my quarters. I met him at the 
gate, and was introduced to Colonel Summers, medical in- 
spector of the U. S. A. The day we amputated poor Bar- 
ber's leg, Pomerene dropped out of the window (we occu- 
pied one room of the house) the boot we cut off his foot, 
where it had been permitted to remain. Summers, with 
stentorian voice, addressing me, asked, "Are you senior 
surgeon?" I said, "lam not senior surgeon of the divi- 
sion, but, in his absence, I am just now in charge." 
"Then, sir, I understand you are in charge now." "Yes, 
sir," was my response. "I have been, sir," said he, "a 
surgeon for sixteen years in the army of the United States, 
and I never permitted such a thing as that about my hos- 
pital," pointing to the boot taken from Barber's foot; and 
that was the key-note to all he said and did in my grounds. 
The bunks for sick and wounded were made by driving 
forks into the ground, and then laying short poles from 
fork to fork, head and foot, and then laying cane length- 
wise, over which a layer of cotton was spread, and over 
the cotton the boys' blankets were spread. The beds were 
soft, springy, elastic, and every way most admirable for ex- 



6 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

temporized beds. But the wind picked up flocks of cotton 
and blew them all over the ground, and for this I was re- 
buked in the presence of my men in gross style. He found 
some of the men had secreted crackers about their beds, 
and for this I was berated still more rudely. Whilst he 
was hectoring me, Dr. Madison Mills, Medical Director of 
the 13th Army Corps, and who is a gentleman, whispered 
to me to let him have full swing, and not to notice it ; but 
I must say it required all my sense of official decorum, and 
all my forbearance to restrain me from cursing him openly, 
as curse him I did in my heart. After all this he had the 
grace to say my grounds were in better condition than 
others he had seen. 

He closed his lecture by asking me if I had any cases of 
interest to show him. I had a case where I had some 
hours previously amputated an arm for a shattered hume- 
rus and a lacerated artery. The man was of the hemor- 
rhagic diathesis. I had applied over twenty ligatures and 
yet the stump would bleed. Bandaging did not control it 
and on the advice of all the surgeons at hand it was thrown 
open and treated simply with cold water dressings. He 
saw it, heard the history, and said he could make a pre- 
scription that would arrest the bleeding. He had learned 
it of Dr. George B. McClellan, the father of General McCleU 
Ian, when he was his student at Philadelphia. I handed him 
my memorandum book, and said I would thankfully re- 
ceive his prescription. And such a perscription, ' ' Ye Gods 
and little fishes," for such a purpose ! An emulsion of cas- 
tile soap in spirits of turpentine and sulphuric ether : ap- 
plied to the cut surface. I bethought me at once of the 
Popinjay who said : 

" The sov'reignest thing on earth 
Was parmaceti, for an inward bruise." 

He is just as much a charlatan professionally, as he is a 
blackguard, braggart, and bully, officially. In bearing he 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 237 

was arrogant and supercilious ; in language, impudent and 
insolent. I understand General Grant has ordered him to 
report at Washington. On his departure from my grounds, 
my men, who knew I had done for them all that was in my 
power to do, expressed great disgust toward him. 

The 22d has been called out of the trenches and are 
now here four miles in the rear of our line, guarding high 
bridge, a trestle work structure, spanning a narrow stream, 
but rather wide valley. Here I have little to do but kick 
up my heels and scribble, as there are two of us and but 
few sick. 



The following did not reach in time for insertion at its proper 
place, but is introduced here. 

Visalia, Kenton County, Ky., April 11, 1884. 
General Wm. T. Sherman, 

St. Louis, Mo. 

Dear Sir, — I was for two and a half years, during the 
rebellion, surgeon to the 22d Kentucky Infantry. In that 
period I was twice under your command. 

First, in the expedition against Chickasaw Bluffs, and 
afterward in the campaign against Jackson, Mississippi, 
after the fall of Vicksburg. I am preparing a memoir of 
the regiment during my period of service, from a non-com- 
batant standpoint. I know nothing of tactics, strategy, or 
the science of war. The staple of the book will be made 
up principally of letters addressed to my family during my 
period of service. * * * 

I have observed that the educated military officer always 
displays a good degree of esprit de corps in behalf of the or- 
ganization to which he may happen to be attached. The 
feeling, in due subordination to justice, is commendable, 
and, I think, equally so with the officers called from 
the walks of civil life, and who is surrounded by the 



238 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

sons of his neighbors and friends; all looking to him for 
protection in their rights or vindication against wrong. 

In your memoirs (page 291) you arraign DeCourcey's 
brigade as derelict in duty at the assault at Chickasaw Bluffs, 
on the 29th of December, 1862. I think you did the bri- 
gade a wrong. My regiment belonged to the brigade, and 
from a sense of duty to regiment and brigade alike, I have 
attempted to combat the " wrong." Whilst my first duty 
is to my regiment, I also feel that I owe a duty to you, and 
that is, that you shall be privileged to see all that I have to 
say on the subject before it is given to the public, and the 
opportunity be allowed you — if you choose to avail your- 
self of it — to have the antidote to the bane incorporated 
with and appear side by side on the leaves of the book. 

You may think I have written with some feeling. I 
acknowledge it; I have it, but, at the same time, I enter- 
tain and have ever entertained the highest opinions of your 
personal prowess and of your military achievements. 

I send roll of proof slips of what I had to say on the 
" mooted point." Should you conclude to say anything 
in rejoinder, please drop me a short note saying so, that 
the printer may have due notice; but should you decline, 
please return the proof slips to me. 
Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

B. F. STEVENSON. 



April 17th. The returned proof slips reached me this 
day, with the accompanying pithy and characteristic en- 
dorsement on them by General Sherman : 

"Frank Blair, T. C. Fletcher, and Fred. Steel were my 
authorities — I was close up — All right — pitch in. 

W. T. S." 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 239 

The morning reports contain the highest evidence known 
in military law. They may not be questioned; they bear 
on their fronts the signature and seal of death, which even 
a military court of enquiry could not invalidate; and 
which an act of Congress — until it restore the dead to life 
— could not abrogate. 

Frank Blair, T. C. Fletcher, and Fred. Steel, were all of 
them honorable men, but not a whit more so than General 
G. W. Morgan, J. F. DeCourcey, and Wm. J. Worthing- 
ton ; and the statements of the latter officers, corroborated 
and sustained as they are by the morning reports, must by 
all candid and just men be regarded as the more reliable 
testimony. 

General Sherman when writing his memoirs was the 
General in command of the army; the records of the War 
Department were at his command, and subject to his in- 
spection. If the arraignment of DeCourcey's brigade was 
written without knowing the facts, he committed an al- 
most inexcusable blunder; if written after an examina- 
tion and with full knowledge of all the facts, then was he 
guilty of an unpardonable wrong. I also say, "pitch in." 

Headquarters 22d Kentucky Infantry, 

Black River Bridge, Mississippi, 
June, 27, 1863. 
"Our army swore terribly in Flanders" said Uncle 
Toby; armies swear terribly everywhere: but that genial 
benignant old gentleman said nothing about the gambling 
propensity of the army with which he served. Gambling 
with us is as prevalent as drinking or swearing. 

To-day we had a death in camp, resulting from a game 
of cards. William F. Walls, private in Co. A, whilst en- 
gaged in a losing game, grabbed the stake, twenty dollars, 
and ran with it. The winner grasped his musket and 
pursued. Walls finding himself hard pressed turned at 



240 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

bay, and just at the moment the charge was fired. The 
ball passed into the abdomen, severing the great abdomi- 
nal aorta, shattered the spine, and, passing out of the body, 
it struck and passed through the glutei muscles of William 
Wilson, also of Co. A, thence through the gastrocnemius 
muscles of a private of Co. E ; and thence into the ground, 
from whence it was grabbled by a soldier. A court martial 
found it a case of accidental shooting.* 

*At a later period in the war the newspapers of the day re- 
ported the wounding of a Major General and two privates by the 
same ball ; not, however, with such fatal result as that in the 22d 
regiment. The General and the privates mentioned were soon 
ready for duty, and to stand in their proper rank at morning call. 



Black River Bridge, Mississippi, July 2, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — Yours of the 17th June reached me two 
hours since, and I was glad to learn the continued welfare 
of the family. 

The enclosed letter from Dr. Wood shows me that I am 
done out of the only trophy I have to this time secured in 
the army. The gun the Doctor mentions as presented to 
him by me was not captured on the bluffs of Vicksburg, 
but in a beautiful flower garden in Louisiana. I witness- 
ed the digging of it out of the ground, where its former 
rebel owner had secreted it. I gave the man who found 
it six dollars for his prize, and had been at some expense 
and much trouble to get it along until we reached Vicks- 
burg. I believe I told you all this in a former letter. 

Col. Cradlebaugh, of the 114th Ohio, was wounded in 
the face during the assault on the enemy's works on the 
22d of May and fell under my care, while I had charge of 
the 9th division hospital, and when leaving for the North 
he expressed himself as under great obligations to me, and 
as anxious to do me any service in his power. I at once 
requested him to take charge of the gun, and have it deliv- 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 241 

ered to Dr. Wood to be kept until called for. At the same 
time I wrote to the Doctor by mail explaining all this, and 
saying if the gun gave him any trouble he might leave it 
with some hardware merchant in the city engaged in the 
sale of arms, who, I had no doubt, would gladly give it a 
prominent place in his show window as a trophy worth 
seeing. 

The Doctor got the gun, but did not receive my letter, 
and I will not now dampen his feelings of gratification by 
reclaiming it.* I had intended at some future time to 
lodge it in the State Armory at Frankfort. Say nothing of 
all this outside the family. 

I hear from you only at what I think long intervals ; and 
you, judging from your writing to Dr. Wood to inquire 
after me, do not get all my letters. I think I have written 
regularly, at least once a week, except during the early 
days of May. Then it was march and fight every day, 
and at night attend to the sick and wounded, so there was 
but little time for any thing else. 

Our present position is twelve miles from the city, and 
we know almost as little what is doing there as you can. 
At intervals during the day we hear the booming of cannon 
and the bursting of shells, and at night the roar is almost 
continuous; the firing at night being in consequence of 
the intense heat of the days. 

There is getting to be much sickness here in our camps. 
The 22d I think as healthy as any regiment in the service 
here, and we have about one man in seven on sick list. 
Remittent and intermittent fevers are the prevailing forms 
of disease. I earnestly hope, for the good of all concern- 
ed, that the struggle at this point may soon terminate. 

Has Kate written to me recently ? I gave her a rebuke 
two days since for neglecting me, which I will regret if 
she has written regularly. My health is still fair, though I 



242 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

can't say what effect the warm relaxing weather of this cli- 
mate will have on me. * * * 

I sent to Bank at Covington one day last week two hun- 
dred and fifty dollars in care of the Adams Express Co. 
I hope you will acknowledge its receipt. 

Some of your rebel friends in Boone, it seems, are finding 
treason a hard road to travel. I think it is well enough 
that they should be made to feel it, as there was never, since 
governments were first organized among men, so causeless 
and wanton a rebellion. 

If the aspect of the State is not too stormy, I hope you 
will go to Georgetown this fall, as I think the visit will be 
kindly received. I am sorry not to be with you if you do 
go. You will of course remember me kindly to every one 
and give many kisses to the children. Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



*My letter reached the Doctor and the gun was reclaimed, and 
delivered to Governor Bramlette at Frankfort for perservation in 
the State Armory. After-events occasioned regrets at the disposi- 
sition made of my trophy. 

Col. King, a generous and gallant soldier, who commanded a 
Kentucky regiment in Sherman's March down to the Sea, had the 
opportunity to preserve from destruction a series of ancient and 
valuable maps, picked up in an abandoned rebel camp in Georgia, 
which he placed in the archives of the State at Frankfort. At a 
subsequent meeting of the legislature of the State, one Read, a 
rebel member of that body, attempted to affix on the memory of 
Col. King the infamous stigma of "theft," King then being in 
his grave. A more scandalous and wanton proceeding was never 
introduced into a legislative body. 

Col. Worthington, who was present when I bought my gun, was 
then a member of the Senate of Kentucky, and I wrote to him at 
once to "steal" the gun from the armory and return it to me. 
But his associations in the legislature had so improved his morals 
that he declined to be a second time particeps criminis to a "theft." 
And so I have since felt that my "pearls were cast before swine." 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 243 

Black River Bridge, Mississippi, ) 
July 5, 1863. j 

Dear Wife, — I wrote to you two days since, but write 
again to-day to congratulate you on the fall of Vicksburg. 
Our forces went in and took possession yesterday. Most 
auspicious day! that of the birth of the nation; and it will 
now be sanctified to the lovers of freedom as the day of a 
second deliverance of the land from a danger greater, more 
potent and more to be dreaded than any our British progeni- 
itors threatened us with. Would to God the great event 
could have been telegraphed to the assembled thousands 
congregated all over the land to do honor to the revolu- 
tionary worthies who first made it a day of days in the cal- 
endar of time. Henceforth it will be observed as a day for 
rejoicing with still more fervor than formerly. 

Immediately on reception of the news that our troops 
had posession of the town, I made out my papers asking 
a leave of absence. You must not calculate too certainly 
on my receiving it. Not less than ten thousand leaves 
will be asked for, and not half of them can be granted. 
There is a general "order" that leaves shall not be 
granted unless the application contains the averment that 
it is necessary to save life or prevent permanent disability 
of the applicant, that he should go North. My applica- 
tion contains no such declaration, and it may on that 
ground be rejected. I was examined by a medical board 
which made me just comfortably sick, but the extreme de- 
gree of the "orders" I begged them for your sake not to 
inflict on me, as I "thought you not quite ready to become 
a doleful widow. What ought I to have done ? If they 
do not let me get through pretty soon I will kick out of the 
traces and probably be dismissed for insubordination. I 
will say, however, that I have better grounds for leave of 
absence than many to whom such favors are granted, but 
I won't whine and cringe to superior officers if I am de- 



244 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

tained until the close of the war, or of my term of service. 

If I get home I will take with me the horse I bought at 
Memphis. He is in many respects a most admirable one, 
and would suit your mother as a carriage horse. He is 
the most docile, gentle creature in the world, but at the 
same time he is proud in carriage, and spirited in his gaits. 
He is rather too heavy for a first class saddle horse, yet I 
prefer to ride him rather than any horse I have backed in 
the army. 

I send express receipts for my last remittance, and also 
the receipt for a sum of money of deceased soldiers en- 
trusted to my care and forwarded by express to Frankfort, 
Ky. The latter you will please preserve. 

Love to all, with many kisses to the children, and re- 
gards to all the outside world worthy of regards. 
Yours truly, 



In Camp near Jackson, Mississippi, \ 
July 12, 1863. j 

Dear Wife, — Yours of .the 28th June reached me this 
evening, and I am glad to learn you are still well. 

My last was written on the 5th. In it I gave you a 
brief account of the surrender of Vicksburg, and of my 
efforts made immediately after that event — to procure a 
leave of absence with permission to go North. 

Before my papers could go through the necessary for- 
malities, orders came for a goodly portion of the army to 
commence its march on this point. We were engaged and 
under march on the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th. The weather 
has been most intensely hot, and quite a number of cases of 
sunstroke occurred on the route. On the evening of the 6th, 
the day we left Black River Bridge, my thermometer (Fah- 
renheit's) suspended from the limb of a beech tree, in a 
dense shady forest, gave on the scale one hundred and 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 245 

two degrees of heat. We crossed the bridge at four p. m. 
and before night I had to send the ambulance back with 
three of our men prostrated by heat ; and I found other 
regiments suffering just as much as ours. 

Jackson was reached and invested on the ninth, at noon, 
and we have been holding it in a state of siege, so far as 
such a thing can be done with the river side open to the 
escape of the enemy. If you will look to your map you 
will find the town on the west side of Pearl River. What 
is exactly the nature of the defenses I can't say further 
than that the rebels have extensive rifle pits connecting 
earth works in which they have batteries of artillery. Can- 
nonading and the sharp rattle of the musketry have been 
almost unceasing since we sat down before the works, but 
up to this time there has been but a limited number of 
casualties; the surgeons of our division having as yet 
but little to do. 

The rebels are under command of General Jos. E. John- 
ston, with General J. C. Breckenridge as second. Our 
troops are under command of General Wm. T. Sherman, 
with McPherson and Blair as subordinates, Grant re- 
maining at Vicksburg. The struggle here, I think, will be 
sanguinary, because, if driven from this position, the rebels 
will have, necessarily, to surrender the entire State. In 
this view of the case, it is with me a matter of regret that 
Grant is not commanding in person, as a repulse will be 
laid to his charge. The troops — whether justly or un- 
justly, I will not say— have not that degree of confidence 
in the discretion of Sherman that leads on to victory. 
But this I will say, a more gallant man does not live, and 
I trust, most sincerely, that the results of this expedition 
will re-instate him in the confidence and affections of the 
army and of the American people. 

Much sickness prevails among all the troops, nor could 
any observer of affairs expect it to be otherwise. To have 



246 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

men exposed from ten to twelve hours daily, to a degree of 
heat you very rarely have in your latitude, and then at night 
to have them sleep on the grass wet with dew, without 
tents, is more than most men can endure without contract- 
ing disease. Fortunately for me, I am under tent, and am 
getting on as well as usual, though the relaxing effect of 
the climate begins to make me feel feeble. 

I have just heard of the fall of Port Hudson. I hope 
this time the news may be true, and by the same mail 
news of the repulse of Price and Holmes in their attack on 
Helena, Arkansas. The latter I may say I know to be 
true, as I have it in a letter from General Garrard, who 
was on the spot, and he never romances. 

I trust in God every department is sending to you the 
same cheering news that greets you from this, and if so, 
we will soon see the end. Love to all, with very many 
kisses to the children. Yours truly, 



July 7th, 1863. Resumed march at an early hour. General 
Jos. E. Johnston commanding rebel force in front of us, and falling 
back slowly. At noon halted for rest and dinner, such as we 
could make out. Fields of green corn are in the milk stage, and 
our boys are luxuriating on it. Whilst at our camp-fire roasting 
our corn, a bird of rare plumage joined us and proposed to roast 
his corn with us, to which we assented. 

A man of Falstaffian proportions. His dome of thought was 
covered with a low-crowned, broad-brimmed sombrero ; his coat 
was the undress blue blouse, "in longitude sorely scanty;" waist- 
coat he had none ; his shirt was colored, and without collar or 
necktie; his nether garment was the light blue double-seated 
cavalryman's breeches, tight-fitting and short in the legs ; he wore 
the brogan shoe of the soldiery ; and a cavalryman's broad sword, 
with iron scabbard, was dangling from his side, and jingling spurs 
protruded from his heels. His shoulders were Atlantean in 
breadth, with gastric and abdominal proportions to correspond ; 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 247 

and his nates, they were big enough, broad enough, ponderous 
enough for a battering ram. 

This rara avis was no other personage than Brigadier-General 
Michael Lawler, of U. S. Volunteers. 

When he made his appearance among us I thought him a 
private cavalryman, and a slovenly one at that. In the war with 
Mexico he rose to the rank of Captain of Volunteers, and on the 
outbreak of the rebellion he was commissioned as Colonel of an 
Illinois regiment. He is of Irish birth, and at Donnelson with 
the characteristic gallantry of his nationality he led his regiment 
into the thickest of the fight and won by merit and bravery his 
Brigadier's commission. 

Resumed march at two P. M., and at four and one-half halted for 
the day. Called at General Osterhaus' Quarters, and whilst there 
a Sergeant attended by a countryman brought a soldier before the 
General, who is the most approachable of men. Rations still short 
and the '•bummer boys" did a little outside foraging. A fine fat 
young heifer running at large along our line of march was killed. 
Complaint was made and the owner appeared to demand redress. 
The soldier admitted the killing, and pleaded in justification, that 
the paroled rebel prisoners had raided our subsistence train, and 
that he and his mess were without rations, and further, sub rosa, 
that he had left the liver with the General's cook. "Ah, dat is it, 
datisit? Well den you always brings me de livers and den I 
never knows notin about de killin of de animates." And turning to 
the countryman, with a grand and graceful bow he said, "Dat is 
all I havs to say, sir." " Bully for you," was the soldier's response. 

8th. Off again after an early breakfast. Rebel cavalry a little 
demonstrative. At eleven A. M. halted, and at three o'clock long- 
roll beat. A young German, alieutenant in a colored regiment, at- 
tached to General Osterhaus' staff, out half a mile in advance, was 
captured by a squad of Texas cavalry, and learning from him his 
regiment, half a dozen of the dastardly rascals emptied the contents 
of their revolvers in his body, and then fled. He lived long enough 
to be brought in, and to detail the manner of his death. I was re- 
quested by General Osterhaus to see him, but found him dead. 
How long, O Lord, how long, will such wanton violations of the 
laws of war go " unwhipped of justice ?" 

11th. I had just eaten an early dinner when I received an order 
from Colonel Lindsey to call at regimental headquarters. On my 



248 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

way up a sharp fusilade of all arms suddenly opened out, and, putting 
spur to my horse, I galloped up to see what the racket meant. At 
the Colonel's tent I learned that he was out on the skirmish line, 
deploying his men. I rode forward, and reached him just in time 
to witness a repulse to our troops on the right, in which several 
hundred men were lost in killed, wounded, and captured, I found 
Colonel Lindsey in the open field, and in very short range of both 
ordnance and musketry. In the minute or two that I was beside 
him a solid shot ricochetted almost under the heels of our horses, 
and two shrapnels went shrieking uncomfortably near, over our 
heads. I thought a rebel battery was making him a special target 
for their practice. He took it all with the utmost coolness. His 
order, he said, did not require my presence on the field, and he 
directed me to retire, and my going was hastened by a couple 
more shells before getting out of range. 

In Camp near Jackson, Mississippi, *) 
July 17, 1863. j 

Dear Wife, — When I last wrote to you I expressed the 
opinion that Jackson would hold out some time, and 
that we would have here a sanguinary struggle. I had 
scarcely opened my eyes this morning when I heard our 
boys asserting that the rebels had abandoned the town, 
and the talk grew longer and louder until by breakfast 
time hope had settled into conviction. 

After dispatching my morning's work, I accompanied the 
field and staff officers of the 22d Ky. and the 16th Ohio in- 
to the town and through the defensive works. As a strate- 
gic point, or as one of any great military importance or 
strength, I was not favorably impressed^ 

The town is situated on Pearl River, and in its palmy 
days it certainly was a very pretty little city, but war has 
left it but the debris of what it was. 

When Sherman captured the town early in May it suf- 
fered severely. The penitentiary and the work shops con- 
nected with it had been converted into establishments for 
manufacturing military accoutrements and implements of 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 249 

war, and they were all burned. The rebels last night, be- 
fore leaving, fired four or five of the largest buildings in the 
center of the town, in which their commissary supplies 
were stored, and the flames spread, and so by the time 
we reached the scene there was presented only a great mass 
of smouldering ruins. Full one-fourth of the town, com- 
prising the best business houses, has been burned, and 
what the rebels have spared I fear our troops will destroy. 

The State House is, externally, a fine looking building, 
though constructed of crumbling bad stone. 

I found the commissary department already in pos- 
session of its interior, and permission to pass through it de- 
nied without a pass from the Provost Marshal, which I 
did not feel interest enough to procure. 

The early abandonment of the position took me quite by 
surprise, as I believe it did commanding officers; as we 
certainly are not prepared for at vigorous pursuit. The en- 
tire army has been for several days on very short rations; 
our regiment this morning consumed their last cracker and 
last grain of coffee, and for a week we have had nothing 
else. Notwithstanding all of this, pursuit was ordered by 
a portion of the army, and I have at intervals for the last 
four hours heard the distant booming of cannon showing 
that the work of destruction and carnage still goes on. 

A flag of truce was sent out day before yesterday, asking 
a cessation of the conflict, as generally understood, that 
the rebels might pay funeral honors to some officer of dis- 
tinction, and for four hours "our bugles sang truce" dur 
irig which time the privates of both armies fraternizec 
most kindly, exchanging greetings, and coffee for tobaccc 
and displayed not the smallest degree of personal an 
mosity; indeed some of the rebel soldiers said to our boys 
that there would be a revolution against rebellion if the 
war were not soon arrested. This is the grand finale t© 
which I have long been looking as an inevitable result. 



250 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

The air is thick and murky with rumors of battles fought 
and victories won. I hope when the bulletins come they 
will confirm the hopes of the most sanguine. The hotter 
the fight the sooner the battle is over. If Meade has thor- 
oughly whipped Lee, the last vestige of hope for the rebel- 
lion is gone, and gone for a hundred years to come. The 
sufferings and hardships of war, together with the atrocities 
of the reckless and unprincipled, will live in the memories 
of the present generation, and be handed down from father 
to son, as a warning to deter those least scrupulous in the 
future from inaugurating such a wanton and criminal waste 
of life. The guilty originators have had the ' ' poisoned 
chalice " returned to their own lips sooner than they listed. 
Twice within the last ninety days has Jackson been occu- 
pied by national troops, and now the official mansion of 
Governor Pettis of this State — who at Vicksburg fired the 
first gun of the war— is occupied by General Frank Blair, 
whilst His Excellency is an exile from his home. I believe 
I may say the rebels of this region are heartily, thoroughly 
tired of war, and anxious to re-establish our ancient rela- 
tions, if the bad men who hold usurped rule over them 
would permit. 

The surroundings of Jackson are beautiful. Rural cot- 
tage houses, embowered in groves of native forest trees, 
interspersed with flowering shrubs, and vines and plants, 
it only requires peace, with its arts and industries, to make 
an earthly paradise where now tumult and wrong prevail. 

I have heard nothing from my leave of absence papers 
yet. General Osterhaus told me he had recommended the 
granting of the leave strongly, and he thinks they will turn 
up all right. He is a thorough German and a magnificent 
fellow, who is much liked by the soldiers. He never says 
" go, boys," but, "follow me." Brave to a fault. I have 
felt better to-day than at any time since I took charge of the 
hospital in the rear of Vicksburg. Love to all with kisses 
to the children. Yours truly, ■, 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 251 

[Monday evening July 20th orders received to be in read- 
iness to march at six A. M. to-morrow 21st. Off on time. Weather 
still very hot. Went into camp after a march of ten or twelve 
miles. Marched 22d and 23d about same distance each day; 24th 
halted at noon for lunch and rest. 22d Ky. turned into an en- 
closure beside the road ; a smooth, well-sodded lawn, with a farm 
house two hundred yards from the gate. I rode nearer the house 
than any of the staff to secure shade. A gentleman met me as I 
dismounted and asked for a guard to protect his garden and fowls. 
I accompanied him to Col. Lindsey's quarters, who ordered the 
guard. The gentleman gave me his name as Wm. F. Davis ; and he 
courteously asked me to dine with him. A Virginian by birth and 
a believer in the right of secession from education. He alone of 
all the men of the South with whom I talked acknowledged that 
he had voted in favor of the ordinance of secession. But now he 
regards it as a failure, and wishes the war to close and the Union 
re-established. He has three hundred bales of cotton hidden away 
from the highway and under shelter. I suggested to him to apply 
to General Sherman for transportation for it to Vicksburg, saying 
to him that five hundred empty wagons were going in. His re- 
sponse was that if he were to do such a thing, his neighbors would 
assemble in one hour after the army left and would hang him to the 
first convenient tree. Champion's Hill, where the great fight of 
Vicksburg campaign was fought, is within a mile or two of Davis' 
house; and General Tighlman, who was killed in that engagement, 
was buried by Davis and on his farm. Tighlman commanded the 
rebel artillery in the fight and not fancying the handling of his gun 
by one of his subordinates he levelled and sighted it himself, and 
just as he rose to the upright position a solid shot from one of our 
guns struck him at the waist and cut him literally in two. * * * 

At dinner Mrs. Davis said she had not seen a grain of tea or cof- 
fee for a year and a half. I had on hand a pound of the best black 
tea that I ever tasted, and I said to her that if she would send Mr. 
Davis with me I would make a fair divide of it with her. "I'll do 
it," she said " and then just as soon as you fellows get out of the 
way, I will call all my neighbor women around me and we will 
have a grand old time of it." "Please to remember me kindly 
in all of your imbibings," said I. "We will, we will." — That was 
the only pleasant social time I spent in Mississippi. 

Resumed march at three P. M ; at four passed Edwards Station, 
and found a large warehouse, said to contain four thousand bales 



252 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

of cotton, in flames. At five my papers asking for a furlough were 
returned to me granting a leave of four weeks. 

At six p.m. was called on by Surgeon Pomerene to ask who among 
all the assistant surgeons he should detail to accompany a train of 
fifty wagons, with five hundred sick, that he was ordered to send 
to Black River bridge during the night: I at once said: "Assign 
me to the duty. I have just an hour since received my papers 
granting me a furlough, and the night ride will put me in Vicks- 
burg one day sooner than if I remain with the regiment." The 
sun was down before the train was ready to start. The distance 
was reported to be twenty miles, and the opinion was expressed 
that we would get in by one o'clock next morning. There was 
no man from my regiment, and I did not know one of them all. 
With a couple of canteens of whiskey slung to the pommel of my 
saddle, I could only ride back and forth along the train and give 
the sufferers a little whiskey ; and instead of getting in at one A.M. 
we did not reach the hospital until after six ; and then I found three 
dead men in my charge. I never passed so unpleasant a night. 

Took a plunge in Black River whilst my breakfast was 
cooking, and my horse taking his rations. 

At eleven A. M. reached Vicksburg and rode at once to Major 
Markland's quarters to make enquiries for his brother Mathew, 
private of the 22d, who was captured at Chickasaw. Met with, 
and was introduced to, General Ord on the balcony, and after 
ordinary courtesies with my usual facility put my foot in thor- 
oughly by remarking to the General that I was sorry to see yester- 
day afternoon, as we passed Edwards Station that the scalliwags of 
the army had set fire to the great ware-house there, burning up 
four thousand bales of cotton. 

General Ord, with some acerbity: " I'll let you know sir, that 
building was set fire to at my order." I found myself in for it, 
and had to fight out. 

Myself: "Well, General, if there was a military necessity for the 
burning, I, of course, have not a word to say." 

Ord: " If every bale of cotton in the South had been burned on 
the first of January, 1860, we would not now have a rebellion." 

Myself: "lam not disposed to question that, General, but as 
they were not burned and we have a rebellion, and the world is suf- 
fering because of the great scarcity of the staple; and we had cap- 
tured and had the means to take it to market, I still think it should 
have been brought in." 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 253 

At this stage of the colloquy Major Markland appeared with a 
glass of wine for each of us, and this ended our controversy, 
" Much virtue in If." * 

A steamboat whistle gave me notice to be at the wharf, and I 
took leave at once. 

Took passage on the steamboat Charles Heilman, and after set- 
tling fare to Cairo for myself and horse I asked for a state-room at 
once. I had been for thirty-six out of forty hours in the saddle, 
without a wink of sleep and was fatigued. Every state-room was 
taken before leaving New Orleans ; the clerk, however, allowed 
me to occupy his bunk in the office for rest and sleep. 

I was roused by the ringing of the supper bell, and found that 
during my sleep I had been robbed of the " last red " I had with 
me, $162.00. The clerk supposed some of the " dam'd negro 
waiters on the boat had stolen the money when he was at dinner." 
" Thinks I to myself." " The woman gave to me and I did eat," 
and that was the last of it.] 

* The author still thinks that four thousand bales of cotton, worth in the 
market at that day more than a million of dollars, were well worth saving; and 
they might have been easily taken to Vicksburg without damage or detriment to 
the army. 

Memphis, Tennessee, Sept. 7, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — Our boat, The Hope, reached this place 
last evening, making the distance of two hundred and forty 
miles — from Cairo here — in the remarkably short time of 
seventy-two hours. We were on a sand bank twelve hours 
of the time, and we lay at anchor in the middle of the 
stream regularly at night. The boat was hot as a furnace. 

After tea yesterday evening I called on Mrs. John W. Cole- 
man, and found her well, but, as I thought, a little sad- 
dened by the results of the war, and the recent death of 
the last and only child of Mrs. Preston, the friend with 
whom she makes her home. Preston was slain at Shilo, at 
the head of a rebel Tennessee regiment, and since then, 
both of his children have died, and thus it is Mrs. Pres- 
ton's cup of bitterness is filled to the brim. Mrs. Coleman 
desires to be remembered to her Kentucky friends in Bur- 
lington. You will please to deliver the message. 



254 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

I have not yet learned the present whereabouts of the 
22d, but my best information is that it is in the vicinty of 
New Orleans, for which point I take boat this evening. 

Love to all, and kisses to the children. 
Yours truly,- 



Vicksburg, Mississippi, Sept. 10, 1863. 

Dear Wife,— We reached here at ten last night, and are 
now detained unloading post supplies, and to obtain pa- 
pers for the further South. 

I undressed myself last night for the first time since 
leaving home. The boats have been so much crowded, 
that I very much preferred to take a blanket and my great- 
coat and roll myself up on the hurricane deck, rather than 
attempt to sleep in the social hall, in an atmosphere reek- 
ing with the fumes of tobacco, whiskey and every offensive 
odor that could be engendered by a promiscuous, and I 
must say, rather filthy crowd. 

At these headquarters I have to-day witnessed scenes which 
are, I doubt not, exceedingly annoying to a high spirited 
people. Heads of families reporting weekly at the com- 
missary department to draw supplies to subsist themselves 
and their children, from a government they vainly attempt- 
ed to overthrow, and now hate. But it is that or starve. 
I found in the crowd a number of lady-like looking women, 
and was told by officials that some of them occupy high 
social position, and are the wives of men now in the rebel 
army. Where under the wide cope of high heaven is 
there to be found another government so benign as to care 
for and sustain the wives, the sons, and daughters of men 
stabbing at its vitals ? 

I have learned here that the 22d is still with the 13th 
Army Corps, and under command of General Ord and now 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 255 

in camp on the shore of Lake Ponchartrain, some eight 
miles from New Orleans. 

Our boat leaves port at noon, and will reach New Or- 
leans in two days, from which point you will next hear 
from me. Health all right. Love to all. 
Yours truly, 



Carrollton, Louisiana, Sept. 12, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — I reached this place at daylight this morn- 
ing and imposed myself on the hospitality of Capt. Wm. 
F. Patterson, a citizen of Kentucky and a Cumberland Gap 
chum. He is in command of the Pioneers of the 13th 
Army Corps. 

The 22d is now at Brashear City, which, is eighty miles 
north-west from New Orleans, and connected with it by 
railroad. I will start for the regiment to-morrow morning, 
but purpose a visit of an hour or two to the city this even- 
ing, which is seven miles below, with railroad communi- 
cation every hour in the day. Love to all, with kisses to 
the children. 

Yours truly, 



St. Charles Hotel, New Orleans, 
Sept. 12, 1863. 



} 



Dear Wife, — I wrote to you a few lines this morning 
from Captain Patterson's quarters, informing you of my 
arrival at Carrollton, but I said nothing of my future desti- 
nation, because I knew only that the regiment had gone 
to Brashear City. From all I can learn here I think the 
future field of operations of the 13th Army Corps will be 
Texas, and I judge Galveston will be the point first struck 
at. This, however, is only my surmise. 

My trip down the river was tardy, and would have been 



256 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

an that account all the more agreeable, but for the intense 
heat of the weather; this, though, was very much relieved 
after we got within the influence of the gulf breeze. 

I have seen nothing of the city except whilst passing in 
the cars; and, leaving at five in the morning, I will have 
but little opportunity to do more than run around to the 
most prominent objects of interest. I find more of stir 
and bustle, than I had expected, after all the papers have 
said of the silence that reigns here. A few months more 
of free navigation of the " Father of Waters" will put the 
city on the road to prosperity again, which it so unfortu- 
nately threw away by joining in rebellion. Her full tide 
of business and wealth will not, however, return until the 
great staple of the South is cultivated as heretofore; and 
every day's observation convinces me that will not be for 
years to come. 

The chief feature of interest in approaching the city was 
the suburban homes, embowered in shade and shrubbery 
as almost all of them are. The style of architecture is 
plain and unpretending, but to me all the more agreeable 
from that fact. 

I found Colonel Monroe here, somewhat indisposed, 
but I think he will accompany me to the regiment to-mor- 
row. I write in his room. I will not write again until I 
reach my regiment. Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



Brashear City, Louisiana, Sept. 15, 1863. 
Dear Daughter, — This town is eighty miles north-west 
from New Orleans, and is situated on Berwick Bay, an 
arm of the Gulf of Mexico, and a grand sheet of water ; 
sufficient to afford safe anchorage for all the navies of the 
world if they could be assembled here. I reached here at 
twelve m. yesterday, and during the afternoon, I for the 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 257 

first time in my life enjoyed the luxury of sea-water bath- 
ing; and a real luxury it was, after a ride of five hours' 
duration, with the sun blazing with almost tropical heat. 
I propose to avail myself of the privilege of a plunge every 
day of our stay in this camp. We are also having such 
creature comforts as fresh oysters, crabs, and fish of every 
kind; together with oranges, lemons, bananas, etc., and 
but for the extreme hot weather, we have nothing of which 
a soldier could justly complain. 

New Orleans I found one of the prettiest, and certainly 
the cleanliest city I have ever entered. This I have been 
told, is due to the wise sanitary measures enforced by Gen- 
eral Butler when he first occupied it, and which General 
Banks still keeps up. Previous to its occupation by na- 
tional troops it was as notorious for its generally filthy con- 
dition as now for its cleanliness \ and then it was subjected 
to an annual visitation from ''Yellow Jack," and the havoc 
always and everywhere accompanying him. Now, how- 
ever, after two summers of army occupation of the city, 
the cowardly rascal has not dared to. make his appear- 
ance. He is averse to the daily ablutions, the scrubbings, 
and sweepings, and dustings, constantly in progress, and 
so he keeps a most respectful distance. Will you believe 
it? a tornado through the streets could not get up a re- 
spectable dust. Don't you think the good ladies of the 
city ought to feel under great obligations to the "Beast" 
for teaching them, not alone civility to strangers, but 
cleanliness also? But your wayward sisters heap on him 
only anathemas. 

General Banks commands in this department; and the 
prevalent opinion here is that he will forward into Texas, 
as rapidly as possible, all the force under his charge that can 
be safely spared, to meet an apprehended invasion of that 
State, by the French from Mexico, If in our present dis- 
tracted condition, a war with France is in store for us, it 



258 ' LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

will try the patriotism of every man, woman, and child who 
owes allegiance to the government and enjoys its protec- 
tion. I trust in God no one in Kentucky will falter in 
such an emergency, whatever they may have thought of 
the rebellion. 

I ought here to acknowledge the receipt of yours of 
July 7th with H 's enclosed. I found also on rejoin- 
ing my regiment, letters from your mother of the 9th and 
28th July. 

You may not hear from me as often as formerly, as by 
each remove my distance from you will be increased, and 
the difficulties of communication multiplied. But whether 
you receive letters from me, or do not receive them, write, 
as I always will be anxious to hear from you. 

I enclose a photograph of Mrs. Brashear. Give my 

regards to enquiring friends. Much love to your mother 

and the children. 

Yours truly, 



Brashear City, Louisiana, Sept. 16, 1863. 
Surgeon B. F. Stevenson, 

22*/ Ky. Infantry. 
Sir, — You will report to General M. Lawler, command- 
ing 4th Brigade, 1st Division, 13th Army Corps as Brigade 
Surgeon. 

Very respectfully, 

B. B. BRASHEAR, 
Senior Surgeon 1st Division, 13th A. C. 

Reporting to General Lawler, I found my " Rara Avis " of the 
Jackson campaign. 

I said to him, "My mess arrangements are with my own regi- 
ment. I hope it will answer for me to make my daily reports to 
your Adjutant, and still keep my tent where it is." His response 
was: "I am entitled to a Surgeon on my Staff, and the regula- 
tions say that his tent shall be just there [pointing to the spot], and 
there I shall expect to find it." And there I pitched it. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 259 

Headquarters 22d Ky. Infantry, Brashear City, 

Sept. 17, 1863. 
B. B. Brashear, Senior Surgeon, 

1st Division, 13t/i Army Corps. 
Sir, — I desire to draw your attention to the fact that but 
one regiment of the 4th Brigade was furnished with 
transportation for hospital tents and supplies, when the 
13th Army Corps was ordered to this place from Carroll- 
ton. 

The 16th, the 42d, and the 114th Ohio regiments' of in- 
fantry, and the 54th Indiana are all of them here without 
tents for their sick, and with but scant supplies for their 
proper treatment. 

Troops on the march and in camp, under the fervid sun 
of this climate, must sicken ; and the economy that with- 
holds ample transportation for their comfort, is not only a 
mistaken, but a most wasteful economy of the most costly 
material of an army — human life. 

I am very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

B. F. STEVENSON, 
Surg. 22d Ky. Inf'y and Sen. Surg. Brigade. 

Sept. 17, 1863. 
Respectfully forwarded. 

B. B. BRASHEAR, 
Sen. Surg. 1st Div. 13th Army Corps. 

Headquarters 1st Division, 13th Army Corps, ) 
Brashear City, Sept. 17, 1863. j 
Respectfully returned. The regiments named within 
have ample transportation. If any of the supplies named 
are scant it does not arise from cause named. 
By order of Major-General C. C Washburne, 

W. H. morgan, 

Major and A. A. G. 



260 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Brashear City, Louisiana, Sept. 25, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — I delayed writing during the last week in- 
dulging in the hope from day to day that I might hear 
from you, but all in vain. I have heard nothing from 
home since I left there. * * * We are on the wing 
this morning and cross Berwick Bay to commence our 
march into Texas. I judge you will not hear from me as 
often as formerly, as the mail facilities are limited and our 
communications will probably be interfered with. 

I was in hopes to send you some funds before leaving 
this point, but during my absence at home the regiment 
was paid off, and another pay-day will not occur for a 
month to come, and then there may be such obstructions 
in the way as to prevent sending money. You shall have 
it, however, at the first opportunity. 

I am here as Senior Surgeon of my brigade, and I send 
you an official letter returned to me under perculiar circum- 
stances, some days since. * * * I talked the matter 
over with Dr. Brashear, Senior Surgeon of the Division, 
when he said it would be best to put the matter in official 
form and send it to Division Headquarters. After writing 
it out, I handed it to him, when he at once endorsed and 
forwarded it to the A. A. G.'stent, which is only twenty 
yards off, and before I left the Doctor's quarters it was re- 
turned with its official response to my complaint. I have 
the best reasons to know that General Washburne did not 
see my communication. Surgeons are held responsible for 
the general sanitary condition of the men under their charge, 
and in this instance, where I certainly had a right to ex- 
pect an examination into the truth of my statements, and 
they are absolutely true, a subordinate stifles it with a 
direct denial of the material allegations. Preserve this 
official note also. Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 261 

[Berwick City, Louisiana, Oct. 7, 1863. Brigade Inspection 
to-day ; Lawler may be very gallant, but to my mind displays great 
ignorance of the technique of military drill. General Ord command- 
ing 13th Army Corps reached the Brigade at eleven A. M. He 
greeted me very cordially, kindly enquiring after my health since 
we parted at Vicksburg.] 



Berwick City, Louisiana, Oct. 3, 9 a. m. 1863. 

Dear Wife, — I have waited and waited, until the last 
moment, hoping to hear from you, but all in vain. Our 
troops are now under way, and are two miles ahead of me, 
so you must put up with a few lines now, and the hope of 
more in the future. 

The regiment was paid off last night, and I will send to 
you by the first safe opportunity four hundred dollars. I 
had another horse to buy, but as I got him cheap (he cost 
me only sixty dollars) I don't regret leaving Charley with 
you. 

We have had a week of storms, but it cleared up day 
before yesterday, and we are now having a glorious day. 
My health is perfect, and I have nothing to complain of 
just now but the unfavorable reports from Rosecrans' opera- 
tions. Love to all, with kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



[Reached the vicinity of Franklin at six P. M. Rain during the 
day, and found ground selected for camp covered with pools of 
standing water. 

A man of one of the Illinois regiments gathered a number of 
fragments of board to protect him from the moist earth. The Gen- 
eral's orderly attempted to take them, when an altercation ensued 
ending in blows. The Generel rushed from his tent flourishing his 
sword and screaming at the top of his voice " Kill the damned ras- 
cal!" His action and language were most violent and unseemly.] 



262 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Vermillionville, Louisiana, Oct. 10, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — I send by the Adams Express Co. four hun- 
dred and fifty dollars to deposit in bank at Covington to 
your credit The express and insurance charges amount 
to nine dollars, which I have requested the bank to pay ; 
your credit will be four forty-one. 

Our force is moving slowly in the direction of Texas, and 
in strength sufficient to take good care of ourselves, and I 
hope to render a good account of the rebels in this region 
should we encounter them. Our route from Berwick City 
was up the Atchafalaya River, some four miles, and thence 
up the Bayou Teche, through the towns of Pattersonville, 
Franklin, New Iberia, St. Martinsville, and thence to this 
place, leaving the Bayou at the latter named town. 

General Banks has with him the 13th and the 19th Army 
Corps; the former under General Ord, and the latter un- 
der General Franklin. The 19th had the advance until 
this morning ; when the 13th took the lead. We passed 
the Headquarters of the 19th whilst Banks, Franklin, and 
their staffs were at breakfast under the outspread branches 
of a great China tree. We were halted for a time just 
opposite their quarters, and I drew on them my field glass, 
and found a well supplied table with an ample spread of 
silver plate. The full, well-developed persons of the 
feeders, with all the evidences of luxury present, led me 
to question if this were making war in earnest. 

To me it looked, with their florid faces, more like painted 
warriors on a painted canvass than real warfare. 

The old adage has it, "They that dance must pay the 
fiddler ;" but I doubt whether the feasters here came down 
with their own tin in payment for the plate. 

The weather has been balmy and delicious as May and 
the country is a paradise, but for the ravages of war. 

Brownsville, Texas, opposite to Matamoras, is understood 
to be our objective point ; and the general belief is that 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 263 

Dick Taylor has not force enough seriously to impede our 

march. I have no time for more as a call to Division 

Headquarters has just reached me. 

Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



[We reached camp just before sundown. A drizzling rain had 
accompanied us all day. While pitching our tents, a drunken 
man, gun in hand, straggled along up near us and stopping in 
twenty feet of General Lawler, said: "You are the man who 

wanted to kill my brother at Franklin; now, G d you, I'll 

kill you ! " and suiting the action to his words, brought his gun 
to the aim, and exploded the cap, but the charge did not ignite. 
He was disarmed at once and sent under guard to his regiment, 
with orders to keep him under guard until sober ; the General 
declining to prefer a charge. Huzza ! say I for General Lawler, 
forever. Under a rough exterior and with crude manners he 
carries in his breast the heart of a hero.] 

At this point Colonel Lindsey took leave of the regi- 
ment; he having been appointed by the Governor of Ken- 
tucky, Adjutant-General of the State. 

Camp Bayou, Vermillionville, Oct. 14, 1863. 

The following preamble and resolutions were adopted 
by acclamation by regiment in full, assembled at Head- 
quarters. 

Whereas, The 22d Regiment Kentucky Volunteers have heard 
with unfeigned regret the decision that our highly esteemed com- 
mander, Colonel D. W. Lindsey, has determined to relinquish 
his command, and to accept an important trust tendered to him by 
the Executive of the Commonwealth: 

Resolved, That we shall ever entertain for him sentiments of es- 
teem, not only for his ability to administer the perplexing business 
of the regiment in Camp, but also for his gallantry upon the field, 
in the various and perilous vicissitudes of our history, on the Big 
Sandy, at Cumberland Gap, and during the siege of Vicksburg. 



264 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Resolved, That we shall ever cherish, with grateful memories, 
his undeviating urbanity, not to his officers only, but to all his 
men, who have ever found in him a ready friend to counsel them 
in their trials, to redress their grievances, and faithfully to fulfil 
his promises made when elected by their choice to conduct their 
uncertain fortunes. 

Resolved, That in his quiet and steady patriotism, and attach- 
ment to the Government, firmly upholding the administration, 
and promptly obeying its behests, even when the wisdom of its 
policy was doubted, justly entitled him to be considered a valua- 
ble friend of his country, amid its misfortunes, and a conservator 
of the public interest, punishing rebellion, by law or by military 
necessity, without creating indiscriminate misery in the general 
license to destroy and to pillage property, irrespective of its con- 
nection with the rebellion. 

Resolved, That in whatever field in the public service he may be 
called to occupy, his command wish for him a bright and useful 
career, and trust that, not only the honors due to a capable and 
faithful officer await him, but that happiness and usefulness which 
he may attain beyond the rugged paths of war, when our beloved 
country shall once more enter the flowery paths of peace and pros- 
perity. 

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be furnished to the 
Frankfort Commonwealth for publication. 

W. J. WORTHINGTON, Major 22d Ky. 
JOHN HUGHES, Captain 22d Ky. 
JOHN L. GODMAN, Captain 22d Ky. 
B. F. STEVENSON, Surgeon 22d Ky. 
HENRY MANFRED, Ass't Surgeon 22d Ky. 
F. C. ROBB, Adjutant 22d Ky. 
J. W. BARBEE, A. Q. M. 22d Ky. 
CHARLES GUTIG, Captain Co. K. 22d Ky. 
WM. K. GRAY, Captain 22d Ky. 
CHARLES G. SHANKS, 1st. Lieut. 22d Ky. 
DAN'L W. STEELE, 2d Lt. Co. B. 22d Ky. 
S. S. SUMNER, Chaplain 22d Ky. 
JACOB SWIGERT, Jr., 2d Lt. 22d Ky. 
W. W. BACON, Captain Co. F. 22d Ky. 
GEO. W. MONROE, Lt. Col. 22d Ky. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 265 

Vermillionville, Louisiana, Oct. 15 ; 1863. 

Dear Delia, — I wrote to you, as I did also to your 
mother and every member ' of my family down even to the 
"wee bit lassie," before leaving Berwick City, for a plunge 
into the wide, wide world of grass and sunshine that holds 
undisputed sway over this portion of the national domain. 

Before reaching this locality we pursued the valley of 
the Teche (pronounced Tesh), if valley it may be called, 
which is only a vast plain, with a deep canal scooped out 
by the facile hands of nature in a serpentine path, thus 
giving fertility to, the soil and affording most abundant 
means for the exchange of its surplus sweets for the grain 
and pork, the hardware and upholstery of the North. 

This region is the most productive of all Louisiana, and 
is much celebrated for its beautiful prairies, and the sweet 
rural villages which dot its plains, and, I must sayjustly so. 
The chief products for exportation are sugar and molasses. 

With me the country has an added interest from the fact 
that here are found the descendants of the Acadians, the 
story of whose wrongs and wanderings Longfellow has so 
well embalmed in song. They lead pastoral lives, graz- 
ing their flocks and herds over the boundless prairies of this 
region. The present generation know only through tradi- 
tion of the wrongs and sorrows of their progenitors. Many 
of them have accumulated wealth and have intermarried 
with the aristocratic families of the State. 

Longfellow in his severe poetic justice following the 
history of the expulsion of that feeble colony from their 
chosen homes, made them exiles and wanderers over the 
wide expanse of territory between the Ohio River and the 
Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic Ocean and the Sabine 
River. But time revenges itself on man. On the bleak 
shores of their northern island home the Gallic blood of 
the tribe would have frozen out long before this, and the 
world would have lost a song of tenderness and beauty. 



266 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Here, however, under a genial sun, and in a fruitful happy- 
clime they have grown and expanded into stately stems, 
which like the grand old oaks of this region, give support 
and protection to all the clinging tendrils that single them 
out for shelter. They are bland, courteous, and hospital 
to excess. 

The Teche is covered with a lotus, or water lily, conceal- 
ing, sometimes for miles, the surface of the stream from 
view ; and as we dragged our slow length along its mar- 
gin, the occasional ripple of the surface by sporting finny 
denizens of the stream reminded me that Evangeline, in 
the long, long hours of almost hopeless solitude, paddled 
her canoe over the same surface, enquiring of all chance 
comers for the whereabouts of Gabriel the Blacksmith's 
son. It required but little stretch of imagination to sup- 
pose the shade of the faithful heroine was still paddling a 
phantom boat, impalpable to mortal eyesight in pursuit of 
her wandering quasi lover. 

It is, however, more in accordance with human reason 
and Christian faith to hope as they were both of them 
good members of "Old Mother Church," that the many 
masses said for the repose of their souls has wrought its 
perfect work, and that they are now at rest from their 
wanderings and their labors, and in the land of endless 
bliss. 

I did hope, before getting out of the busy world of in- 
formation, to hear from my home, and from you, but in this 
I have been disappointed. Other men have been receiving 
letters from all sections of Kentucky, but since I left home 
on the second of last month I have not heard a word, and 
it is bootless now to complain, as all my grumbling will 
not grease Uncle Sam's coach wheels, and so I will save 
pen, ink, and paper, and best of all, my bottled-up wrath 
to be expended on some future occasion to more practical 
benefit. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 267 

The weather is bland as May; and the atmosphere is 
burdened with the ever variable song of the mocking bird, 
and with the fragrance of wild roses, and innumerable, and 
to me nameless flowers. Love to all. 
Yours truly, 



Opelousas, Louisiana, Oct. 26, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — I wrote to you after leaving home from 
Cairo, Memphis, Vicksburg, and since from every point 
where the regiment has made a pause, but as yet I have 
not received a scrape of a pen from Burlington except 
Charley's letter. What does it mean ? 

In other letters I have said what I thought of the Teche 
region, and will now only repeat that it is a grand 
country, and fertile beyond my highest conceptions of it 
before seeing it. In midsummer it is quite warm, but just 
now the weather is genial and balmy as May in your lati- 
tude. 

The army finds here an abundance of forage for our 
stock, and also a bountiful supply of beef cattle and hogs. 
We had therefore to transport rations of bread, sugar, tea, 
and coffee only. Quartermaster's certificates are given for 
everything consumed by the army ; and thus the feelings 
and interests of the community are enlisted in behalf of the 
stability of the government. 

As yet we have had only slight skirmishes with the ene- 
my. When we left Berwick they were reported to be at 
Franklin ; reaching that point we were told we would cer- 
tainly encounter them at New Iberia; and so on at Ver- 
millionville, and at this place, which was reported to be 
strongly fortified. We have nowhere found any defensive 
works, and I am of opinion they will not make a stand in 
this State. 



268 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

The country from Berwick to this place is prairie, with a 
fringe of timber along the streams. The cultivation of cot- 
ton and sugar is about played out just now, as most of the 
field hands have been sent west into Texas, or have freed 
themselves. 

Whilst at Vermillionville I took a ride to look at the 
plantation of Governor Mouton, and finding a number of 
negroes on the place I asked an old man if he belonged to 
the Governor ; his response was : "I did belong to Gov- 
ernor Mouton, but I don't know as he owns any-body 
now." "Then," said I, "what are you doing here?" 
"The family wants somebody to look after the farm and 
the stock, and they pays me monthly wages to do so," was 
his curt reply. Thus you see what is befalling the leaders 
of the rebellion in all the South. Before the war Governor 
Mouton owned five hundred slaves — so said the same old 
man — and I have seen four large plantations, each said to 
contain a thousand acres, enclosed, and all reported to be 
his. To him belongs the questionable honor of having 
presided ovc the rebel convention that passed the ordin- 
ance of secession for Louisiana. Since the capture of New 
Orleans he has been a prisoner and under military surveil- 
lance, though just now on parol, and at his home in attend- 
ance on a sick family. 

You have heard of the "northers " that sweep across the 
great plains of this region. They are not always accom- 
panied with rain, but frequently are. The night before we 
left Vermillionville one set in attended with rain, but the 
order to move had been issued and go we must. In less 
than half an hour after getting under way the clothes of all 
were saturated, the driving sluice penetrating almost in- 
stantly. The men could barely keep comfortable when in 
motion, but in the first four hours it was safe to say they 
were standing at halt half the time. We had in advance 
of the column five hundred wagons and ambulances, and 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 269 

the arrest of one arrested all in rear of it. Every man with 
whom I talked said it was the most miserable day of his 
life. But I am glad now to say we are having delightful 
weather. * * * I have a call to regimental head- 
quarters and pause. * * * 

Ten and a half p. m. "The best laid schemes of mice 
and men gang aft aglee." My call to the regimental head- 
quarters was to notify me to be ready early in the morning 
to "Gae back the gate we cam again," to the point of de- 
parture, from whence I understand this army corps will be 
sent to Texas by the way of Gulf. And this is making 
war with a — 

"Hey, diddle diddle, 

The cat and the fiddle ; 

The cow jumped over the moon; 

The little dog laughed, 

To see such sport, 

And the dish ran away with the spoon." 

Love to all. Good night, good night. 
Yours truly, 



New Iberia, Louisiana, Nov. 1st, 1863. 

Dear Daughter, — I received, day before yesterday, a let- 
ter from Delia, which had been forwarded to Burlington for 
proper direction. You appended a "postscript" which is 
all I have received from you or your mother since I left 
home, now more than two months gone. If your letters to 
which you allude ever come to hand your questions shall all 
be answered. Mrs. Brashear's photograph I sent you from 
Berwick City, I do not remember to have promised one 
of General Osterhaus, but be that as it may, I can't now 
supply one, as he is at present with Rosecrans. 

Opelousas was the ultima thule of our northward and 
westward march in this State. We commenced our retro- 



270 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

grade movement on the 29th, and reached this place on 
the 30th Oct. in the midst of a furious driving nor' -west 
wind and rain storm. It cleared off just before sunset 
and we had a cool night of it, requiring all our coats, over- 
coats and blankets to keep us warm throughout the night. 
I believe the enervating influence of this climate occasions 
as much suffering from the degree of cold that prevails here 
as results from that of the more frigid North. 

The Teche region is a beautiful, most beautiful country, 
but it is suffering just now, from the hardships of hostile 
armies roaming over and feeding at will from its bountiful 
table. Beef cattle, hogs, and corn, are here in sufficient 
quantity to feed all the rebel hosts, if they could only se- 
cure them. But thank God, our control of the Mississippi 
River prevents that, at the present and for all the future. 

My present information is that we will march to Berwick 
Bay, and there embark on transports for western Texas. 
If the programme is carried out I will yet before reaching 
home have an opportunity to hear old ocean roar, and 
see its surging billows roll. 

You failed to mention your sister Julia. Has she returned 
to her school at Georgetown? 

Love to all, with kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



New Iberia, Louisiana, Nov. 6, 1863. 
Dear Wife, — I received this evening Kate's letter of 
Oct. 3d, yours of the 11th, and J. Kirkpatrick's of the 6th. 
The last I have answered, and Kate's and yours I propose 
to answer in one, and now. In reference to Col. Wilson, 
I will say that whilst lying at Young's Point last winter I 
formed the acquaintance of a gentleman of that name who 
was in command of a cavalry regiment from Illinois, I think. 
I know nothing of Mrs. Wilson. The matter may, how- 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 271 

ever, be susceptible of easy solution. There was in the 
army at the time we were round Vicksburg a Surgeon B. 
F. Stephenson of an Illinois regiment. I did not at any 
time have the pleasure to meet him. If this does not 
explain the mystery it is beyond my ken. 

I have written so frequently and freely of late that I have 
nothing new or interesting to say. We are at present on 
ground from which I wrote to you before we went to Ope- 
lousas and we are now on the qui vive, expecting an attack 
from the rebels who have of late shown considerable bold- 
ness, they having two days since surprised Burbridge's 
brigade, and handled it pretty roughly. The story in the 
papers to which you allude, of a fight at Brashear City was 
all bosh, as it did not come off. It was but a re-hash of a 
previous fight, or rather of a shameful surrender without a 
fight, of a vast amount of public property, for which some 
one in the future should be held responsible. The present 
rumor may be a device of the enemy to prevent the order- 
ing of the 13th or 19th Corps to Chattanooga. 

The papers keep you better informed of operations on 
the Gulf than anything I can say. I know only that Gen. 
Banks has gone to Texas by the Gulf, but what he is doing 
there, or doing elsewhere, I can't say. I see a New Or- 
leans paper occasionally, but they rarely contain anything 
of interest to me. You mention a former letter; I assure 
you this of Oct. 11th, is the first I have received from you 
since I left home. 

Love to all, with many kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



Berwick City, Louisiana, Nov. 13, 1863. 
Dear Wife, — Yours of the 17th October reached me yes- 
terday and I am glad to learn that you are all well. 

On the 9th mst. the 13th Army Corps received orders to 



272 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

take up its line of march for this place, a distance of fifty- 
five miles, which was accomplished in two days, and that, 
let me tell you, is good marching for men burdened with 
knapsack, and blanket and all the accoutrements of the 
soldier. 

We still hear that our destination is Western Texas, where 
it is understood that General Banks has made a landing 
with a few thousand troops. A portion of our division were 
started yesterday by way of the Gulf for the same point, 
and as rapidly as vessels can be supplied, the remaining 
regiments will be hurried to the same point. 

Kate applied for photographs of General Osterhaus and 
others. I explained in a former letter why I could not 
furnish them, but I send now pictures of Col. John F. De- 
Courcey, Col. D. W. Lindsey, and Lieut. -Col. G. W. 
Monroe. Lindsey's picture is badly taken, and in the fu- 
ture I hope to procure a better one. 

You have not acknowledged the receipt of four hundred 
and fifty dollars forwarded from Vermillionville. I sent 
last week by same conveyance (Adams Express Co.) two 
hundred and fifty dollars, making in all seven hundred 
dollars, less express and insurance charges. I hope both 
sums will have reached you before this comes to your hands. 

I cut a slip from your last letter for explanation; you 
saj, " I am afraid your day being put off so long you will 
suffer some inconvenience from it as you did not have a 
very large amount to start with." What day? That of my 
return home or my death? Whilst I am looking anxiously 
for the former, I am equally anxious for the latter to be 
" put off" indefinitely. You also say you would "send 
me some," if you could meet with a safe opportunity. 
Thank you. I need " some" patience, " some" forbear- 
ance,' "some" prudence, and '•' some " of many other 
qualities of which I feel myself sadly at times in want. But 
whether these wants make up the " sum " of what you pro- 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 273 

pose to send, I must wait for your future explanations to 
unriddle. 

. The result of the elections in the North reached us by 
telegraph long before your letter, but I get little of the de- 
tails ; the grand finale, however, is sufficient to almost pro- 
voke a hurrah ''"under the ribs of death," and is of more 
worth to the country at large than a brilliant victory in the 
field. 

With the exception of a "norther" about one day in the 
week, we are having delicious weather; the days warm as 
May with you, and the nights just cool enough to make 
one draw his blankets round him when he lies down to 
sleep. Julia will be very anxious to see all of you by the 
Christmas holidays, and I hope you will gratify her if she 
can secure proper company home. 

I am looking forward to much pleasure on the rolling 
deep which we will encounter in a day or two. 

Love to all with kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



On the afternoon of the 17th Col. Sheldon's Brigade was ordered 
across Berwick Bay. The 22d in advance ; we were marched to the 
water's edge for embarkation, which was for the time arrested in 
consequence of the presence of a herd of Texas fat cattle (eight 
hundred, said the herders) which had just come up for passage. 
They were driven to the shore and forced into the water and swam 
the Bay, a full half mile wide. Numbers of them were refractory, 
and were with much difficulty forced to take water, and one of the 
herd became thoroughly uncontrollable. And on a wide field we 
witnessed a bull fight that would have done no discredit to a 
Spanish amphitheatre. One horse was overthrown, and his rider 
rolled in the dust ; without, however, any material damage done. 

One of the regiments in camp, was out on inspection, and during 
the excitement of the moment, the big, bellowing bovine monster 
got the enfilading shute on the regiment and went for it with a 
mighty rush, and, 

" Sich a gittin' down stairs I never did see." 



274 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

The last man of them all was taken with a leaving. " It was God 
for us all, but the devil take the hindmost." The doughty war- 
riors, however, had their revenge before set of sun. 

The Texas brave was shot, 
And soon was brought to pot; 

The ready stampeders, 

Were greedy dam-feeders : 
And like the bloody Hun, 
These brave sons of a gun, 

Devour'd both liver and heart, 

To brace up the weak part, 

Where honor and valor doth dwell. 

'Twas net exactly a Bull Run stampede, but some punster called 
it a Bull-ox stampede, and it was made the occasion of much jest 
and merriment for the day. In consequence of the delay caused 
by the crossing cattle, the regiment was ordered to camp again ; 
and was called up at three A. M. 18th, to take boat for Brashear 
City ; and again at twelve midnight to take cars en-rouleiox Plaque- 
mine, which was thought to be menaced by Dick Taylor. 



Plaquemine, Louisiana, Nov. 24, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — I wrote to you from Berwick City on the 
17th inst., and I received Julia's last with your addendum 
the same evening. 'The next morning, the 18th, we 
were at three o'clock ordered across Berwick Bay, and 
again that night at twelve to take up the line of march for 
this position, which was understood to be menaced by a 
portion of Dick Taylor's command. From Brashear City 
to Donaldsonville, a distance of eighty miles, was accom- 
plished in two and a half days. Twenty miles by rail, the 
balance of the road we footed it along the bank of Bayou 
LaFourche, which looks very much more like a work of 
man than one of nature's conduits. 

The district passed through along the Bayou LaFourche 
has been less subjected to the ravages of war than any por- 
tion of the South I have yet visited. And here we found 
large sugar plantations, well cultivated, with the boiling 
establishments in full operation ; many of them turning out 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 275 

from eight hundred to a thousand hogsheads of sugar each, 
with twice or thrice that number of barrels of molasses. I 
found here, also, much genuine loyalty to the government. 
One man with whom I conversed — and he is one of the 
most extensive planters of this section — said to me he 
wished earnestly to see the government succeed in thor- 
oughly overthrowing the rebellion, though it should sweep 
from him all his slaves. Forty of his field hands have 
already abandoned him, but he still has over a hundred 
remaining with him. To use his own language: "The 
government is worth more to me and mine than slavery." 
This is the highest evidence of pure patriotism I have yet 
met with in the South ; coming squarely up to my position 
at the beginning of the war. Lord, Lord, what a speci- 
men of egotism, but I hope it will be tolerated in a 
domestic epistle ! 

I have now passed through the two wealthiest parishes of 
Louisiana — not including that of New Orleans — St. Mary's, 
on the Teche, and Assumption, on Bayou LaFourche, and I 
have no hesitation in saying that Western Louisiana could 
supply, for an indefinite time, nay, for all time, the entire 
batch of rebel states with all the prime necessaries of life, 
embracing bread, beef, and sugar. This simple statement 
shows the important blow struck at the rebellion in securing 
and now maintaining exclusive control over the navigation 
of the ' ' Father of Waters. " 

It was a great disappointment to our boys to be diverted 
from Texas, as most of them had fixed their hearts on the 
expedition into that state. But now we have been long 
enough in the service to go without murmur wherever the 
powers that be think the best results can be obtained from 
our presence. I would very much have preferred the free 
and easy life of the plains of Western Texas to being cooped 
up in a miserable town, abandoned by God and deserted 
by man, doing garrison duty. 



276 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

On our march to Donaldsonville I made frequent en- 
quiries for the Bartholomew family, and, fortunately, I met 
with an old schoolmate of Edward's. He is married, and 
is now living quietly on his farm, having taken neither lot 
nor part in the rebellion. His Boone friends will be glad 
to learn this much, and more than this I can't say. 

I would have written sooner after our arrival, but have 
been waiting for an upward bound boat. Guerillas are 
very active between here and Memphis, and transport boats 
have to wait on the movements of the ironclads. 

The news you communicate of the death of and 

does not surprise me. They have paid the dearest of all 
penalties in their search after lost rights. Whilst I had but 
little reason to esteem either of them, I did hope to find 
them prisoners in our hands, and to be able to render them 
some service. But, having paid the last great debt due to 
nature, peace be to their ashes. 

I can say nothing as to the probable time we may re- 
main here ; having been diverted from Texas, I would not 
be surprised any morning to find us transferred to the Army 
of the Cumberland. These things all depend on events 
which a day or an hour may bring forth. 

Love to all, with kisses to the, children. 
Yours truly, 



Plaquemine, Louisiana, Nov. 30, 1863. 

Dear Daughter, — I received yesterday your mother's let- 
ters of Oct. 28th and Nov. 7th, and yours of Dec. 3d, with 
Delia's enclosed; so you see still, " When it rains it pours." 

In a previous letter to your mother I apprised her of our 
arrival at this point. We have here the 42d and 120th 
Ohio, and the 7th and 22d Kentucky regiments of Infan- 
try, one company of cavalry and a section of artillery; 
enough in all to make a pretty good fight if the rebels as- 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 277 

sail us ; and if they will only hold off a few days, and give 
us the opportunity to complete the earthworks commenced 
the day after our arrival, to punish them for the temerity of 
an attack. 

Col. Sheldon, of the 42d Ohio, is in command, and he 
said to me to day that we would probably all be retained 
here during the winter. To me this is a source of dis- 
satisfaction, as I would much prefer Texas to this miserable 
town. 

Your mother reports your health as impaired, but I hope 
to hear soon that you. are well. I fear it results from your 
own wrong doing. When I was at home she requested me 
to give you a word of warning against the pernicious vice 
of lacing. The desire of young girls to contract their 
waists like wasps is not only ridiculous, but positively hurt- 
ful to general health, and will, if persisted in, render their 
minds as waspish as their bodies. I most sincerely hope 
you are not guilty of the vice. 

I wish I had the opportunity to send you a box or two 
of oranges. We have them here larger and finer than I 
have ever found them North; very sweet, and bought at 
two and a half cents each. The only eatables in all this 
country to be procured at reasonable rates are oranges, 
sweet potatoes, pecans, and peanuts. Potatoes, twenty- 
five cents per bushel; pecans and peanuts, fifty cents per 
peck. Ducks, one dollar and fifty cents per pair; chickens, 
one dollar each ; eggs, seventy five cents per dozen ; butter, 
same per pound. You will take but little interest in these 
details, but I have written them in the absence of anything 
of moment to impart. 

The two last nights have made ice a full half inch thick 
each night, and yesterday was cold from the rising to the 
going down of the sun. You are, I presume, having a 
cold winter in the North. 



278 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

I am quartered in one of the best houses in the suburbs 
of the town, and am entirely comfortable. 
Love, and kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



Plaquemine, Louisiana, Dec. 7, 1863. 

Dear Wife, — Your letter of the 15th Nov., undercover 
to Major Worthington, reached me two days since, and 
I have delayed a response to the present time, because 
our regular mail goes out in the morning, and I concluded 
to wait until the last moment. 

The death of poor Thomas I was very sorry to learn ; 
but I must say I have for some time been trying to prepare 
myself for such an event. The excitements and anxieties 
of the past five years, acting on his peculiarly sensitive and 
susceptible mental and physical organization, all portended 
to me ah early close of his life. When the facts are known 
I presume it will turn out that he had brain trouble rather 
than rheumatism, which you assign as the cause of his 
death. 

He had capacities for usefulness to society which were 
all frittered away and rendered of no avail, by his insatiate 
craving for political distinction. If I wanted to read any- 
one a" homily on the treacherous character of political men, 
I could do no better than give Tom's history. In the days 
of his prosperity he was feasted and caressed by political 
aspirants, but when he most needed their confidence and 
support he was cast off and neglected by them. It is but 
just, however, to say, he had not been true to himself and 
to the capacities with which nature had endowed him. 
The great master of English thought never uttered a truer 
sentiment than when he said : 

" This above all — to thine own self be true; 
And it must follow, as the night the day, 
Thoucan'st not then be false to any man." 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 279 

The deplorable political complications of the day occa- 
sioned a degree of estrangement between us. I certainly 
have felt no bitterness toward him, and I am equally sure 
he entertained none to me ; but, taking directly antagonistic 
grounds, and both of us being somewhat positive in our 
views, there could not be any cordiality on which to base 
a correspondence, and therefore it was, by a kind of mutual 
consent, dropped. I hope it has all been for the best, 
because in the contact between flint and steel, some sparks 
of heat are sure to be emitted. When you write to Sarah 
please remember me kindly, and in the future let me know 
whether they purpose to remain in Maysville or expect to 
seek a home elsewhere. 

The proofs thicken that our stay here will be protracted, 
unless some unforeseen disaster occurs to call us to the re- 
lief of other imperiled forces ; and one of the proofs that 
we are to remain is that our boys have been set to the con- 
struction of a large earthwork fort, which will require two 
months time to complete. 

Yesterday and to-day we have been receiving news of 
Grant's triumph over Bragg. I hope as the details come in 
they will grow greater. This, with the overthrow of Lee 
in Virginia, will give assurance of the inevitable rout of 
rebellion. 

During the last four nights we have been on the qui vive 
in anticipation of an attack on our position from a portion 
of Dick Taylor's command, which has been hovering in 
striking distance of us for some days, but the information 
of to-day is that they have, turned their faces hitherward. 
If they had assailed us immediately after our arrival here, 
they might have effected some purpose, but now our de- 
fensive works are in such forwardness as to afford great 
protection to our men and make the rebels rue the attack, 
if attempted. 

The sugar-making season is now in full operation, and 



280 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

the boiling establishments are in full blast. I rode out one 
day last week to witness the process, as conducted at two 
of the mills three miles from town One of the establish- 
ments has the capacity to make thirty-three hogsheads of 
sugar daily, with an average of fourteen hundred pounds 
to the hogshead, and two barrels of molasses to the hogs- 
head ; and this amount has been made every day for the 
past two weeks. The boiling is done in copper and by 
steam, and without danger of scorching the syrup. I wit- 
nessed the filling of the large tank in which the syrup is re- 
duced to the granulating stage, and in just nine minutes of 
time enough syrup to make four barrels of sugar was turned 
into the granulating vats, and in less than ten minutes ad- 
ditional time all the vats were covered with granulated sugar. 
The process was to me quite interesting. 

I will close, wishing you a very merry Christmas and a 
happy New Year, as this will probably reach you about 
that time. Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



Plaquemine, Lousiana, Dec. 20, 1863. 

Dear Daughter, — Your welcome favor of 30th November 
came to hand yesterday. Allow me to congratulate on 
your improvement in ' ' pen-womanship " displayed in this 
last epistle ; and now, having shown that you are capable, 
I hope you will not stop short of at least a good degree of 
excellence in that necessary, but much neglected, branch 
of education. 

I am now using a pretty little article, the gift of a gentle- 
men and fellow-soldier, made tome under peculiar circum- 
stances, which I have a mind to promise you. 

I was called on yesterday to write the last will and testa- 
ment of Capt. Evan D. Thomas, late of the 22d Kentucky 
Infantry, who died at six this morning. His money he 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 281 

gave to his relatives ; his sword to one friend ; his pistol to 
another, and his meerschaum pipe to yet another; his 
blankets he gave to a female friend in Kentucky, and 
when all thought every thing had been disposed of, then 
came this bequest : "My gold pen and my writing imple- 
ments I give to my friend, Surgeon B. F. Stevenson." 

Capt. Thomas was a most excellent officer, and had more 
of personal and official pride than any line officer of the 
regiment; and, as a result therefrom, all his official acts 
were in strict accordance with regulations. 

He was at the first taking of Cumberland Gap, in the 
capacity of staff officer. At the battle of Champion Hills, 
in the rear of Vicksburg, he was frightfully burned by the 
premature explosion of a quantity of buried rebel ammu- 
nition he was ordered to destroy. He was sent North, and 
recovering from his burns was just in time to accept an in- 
vitation from Col. John F. DeCourcey to take a place on 
his staff, as he was preparing for a second march on Cum- 
berland Gap; and thus he a second time witnessed the 
capture of that strong-hold by national troops. During all 
this time he was barely able to sit on his horse, but his 
earnest desire to be of service drove him to exertions 
which hastened his death. I say hastened, because he 
had a fatal malady, contracted in the army, which was all 
the time gnawing at his vitals, and which, by and by, 
would have done the work for him without his recent 
fatigue and exposure. He rejoined the regiment at New 
Iberia as we came down the Teche, and has been a mem- 
ber of my mess since then, and up to the period of his; 
death. 

Now do you think you will merit to be the recipient of 
such a memento of his regard for me ? In the hope that 
you may, I will use it no more, until after my return home„ 
and if, in the meantime an opportunity presents, I will 
send it to you. 



282 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

I am now for the first time since joining the army be- 
hind with my correspondence, and it all grows out of the 
fact — believe it or not as you like — that I have nothing to 
do, and I do it like a good fellow. When I am worked 
hard it keeps me thinking, and then I write better, at 
least with more ease to myself. 

I have good quarters in a fine house in the suburbs of 
the town, and have nothing to grumble at but the high 
price of eatables. Eggs, six bits a dozen; butter, same 
per pound ; you may, at your leisure, work out what these 
articles would cost in rebel currency, when I tell you one 
greenback dollar in this community will buy a peck, scrip- 
tural measure, heaped up, pressed down, running over, of 
the worthless trash. 

Love to all, with kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



Plaquemine, Louisiana, Dec, 22, 1863. 

Dear Delia, — I received two days since your favor of 
the 24th November, under cover of one from Kate of the 
30th. 

You have learned from other sources that, instead of 
careering over the plains of Texas, the 22d is now en- 
gaged in garrison duty at this place. To me the change 
has been anything but agreeable, as I had long desired to 
visit the great prairie state of the South, but as the author- 
ities have decided otherwise I have endeavored like a 
good soldier to submit without a murmur. 

Here I am in the midst of the sugar-making season, and 
in a region of the State where the establishments have not 
been ruined by the havoc of war, as all were on the Teche. 
I have paid a couple of visits to the mills to witness the 
active operations, and was much interested with all I saw. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 283 

One of the establishments was making thirty-three hogs- 
heads of sugar daily, and twice that number of barrels of 
molasses; each hogshead dripping two barrels of the 
sweet stuff, and I think the process just about the nastiest 
affair I have anywhere witnessed. I will never again be 
able to take a spoonful of sugar-house molasses without 
thinking "rat," and having visions of extract of the 
filthy creatures floating through my memory, as I found 
them floating through the sweet mass ; the living, strug- 
gling and crawling over the dead and dying animals. You 
may charge me with bad taste in trying to deprive you of 
a pleasure in the future, but what is a poor body to do ? 
I have to hammer out a letter to you, and can only do so 
by telling what I see. If, however, you want to " lick 
'lasses and swing on a gate," go it whilst you are young, 
but if, you live to be as old as I am and happen to see just 
such sights as I have seen you will " look twice before you 
leap." 

The death of your uncle Thomas is a sad loss to all of us. 
"What shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue." 
Whose prospects were brighter in the spring time of life ? 
Whose sun went down behind a darker cloud ? He had 
abilities which in early manhood he cultivated assiduously; 
yet he reaped not where he had sown. He had social and 
colloquial powers which ought to have maintained him in 
the highest position, and which were all thrown away at 
the shrine of political or partisan advancement. Had he 
pursued, steadily and without turning to the right or left, 
any single course in life, he might have chosen where to 
stand. His errors and his faults let us all endeavor to 
forget; his virtues, which were many, let us cherish in our 
memories, and embalm in our hearts. 

You will have passea your Christmas holidays before 
this reaches you, and I think, from all they write to me 



84 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

from home, you will have had Kate with you, where I 
hope you may all have passed a pleasant time. Love to 
all, with kind regards to enquiring friends. 

Yours truly, 



Plaquemine, Louisiana, Jan. 1, 1864. 

Dear Wife, — I am two letters in your debt; yours of 
19th November and 5th December came safe to hand ; the 
latter a week since. I wrote on Saturday last to Charley, 
and so concluded to postpone payment to you. I have, 
however, another and a passably fair apology for my silence. 
You know I am always busy at the close of the month in 
making out my usual monthly report, but the close of the 
year more than doubles my monthly labors, as I have 
then to make out an account current of all medical and 
hospital supplies received during the year, the disposition 
made of them, and what remains on hand. This is an 
important report to the surgeon, because if not made he 
stands charged on the books of the Department for all 
supplies not accounted for, and his pay is withheld until 
proper return is made. I rather think you would prefer to 
wait a week longer for a letter than miss your chance for a 
grab at Uncle Sam's greenbacks. What say you ? I will 
be governed by your slightest wish. You know I am a 
monument of meekness. 

You do me wrong in your November letter. I did not 
say you had let two months pass without writing to me. 
The letter of which you complain was written just two 
months after I left home, and up to that time I had 
received nothing from you, and I asked if you had per- 
mitted all that time to pass without writing to me. 

I am glad to learn from your last that I am capable of 
saying something to make you all merry as it is vastly bet- 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 285 

ter to enact the laughing than the weeping philosopher. 
You charge me, however, by implication, with a most hei- 
nous crime, that of garbling your letter, and that too with 
the slip containing what you said before you. Now are 
you not ashamed of yourself? You are caught flagrante de- 
licto in the commission of a felo de se. Am I not very 
learned ? It is only lawyer's or dog Latin, whichsoever you 
may choose to call it. I permit you to make peace be- 
tween us by kissing baby bunting, kiss her and kiss her 
again for me and I will forgive you. 

I have to thank you for your photograph, which came 
with mine in your last. Yours is admirably taken. I have 
never seen one truer to nature. I will take the best possi- 
ble care of it in our rough-and-tumble life. 

You speak of my seeking a new location. I have seri- 
ously thought of doing so, but at this distance from home I 
can say nothing definite. What would you say to New 
Orleans ? By and by it will fill up rapidly, and at present 
property can be bought there cheap. I had thought some 
of a home on the Iowa land. The action of President Lin- 
coln in selecting Council Bluffs as the eastern terminus of 
the north branch of the great Pacific Railroad will add 
greatly to its value, and hasten very much settlements in 
that section. But the cold climate deters me. Can't you 
find some one to buy the Burlington property ? If it were 
off my hands that would go far to settle the question for 
the future. If the Doctors who have moved in during 
my absence are worth any thing some one of them might 
buy to get me out of the way. 

For the last four days we have had rumors of a speedy 
removal of the troops here to Texas, and Matagorda Bay 
is the point named, and these rumors are all traceable to 
officers returning from New Orleans, where they pick up 
scraps of news about headquarters. I will not be suprised 
at any thing. 



286 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

What has Calvert done with my horse ? You never men- 
tion him. If he were here now I could sell him for twice 
the amount he cost me, as good horses here command very- 
high prices. My new purchase I like very much ; he is 
well gaited, sprightly and neat, swift and sure of foot, car- 
ries a high head, is a gentle worker, and withal, he has but 
two faults. The first : he is very fretful when bridling 
him ; and the second — a grave one, but he can't help it — 
he is a flea-bitten gray. Is it not ' ' horrible, most horrible ? " 

Now that I have to-day finished up all my reports until 
the end of the month, I promise to kick up my heels 
generally and be as merry as possible; but don't charge 
me with having "imbibed" too freely, because it is New 
Years day and I have written with levity. I declare in all 
candor that I have drank during the holidays but one 
single glass of egg-nog — this and nothing more; and if 
that is not a temperate enjoyment of the good things of a 
holiday week where will you go to find it ? I write non- 
sense to you from a sheer lack of any other sense to write. 
I can't imagine things, and this miserable town is barren 
of any interest to me. 

Heaven bless you all with health, content, happiness, 
and the joyful return of many, very many, New Years 
mornings. Remember me kindly to enquiring friends 
and kiss the children for me. 

Yours truly, 



Plaquemine, Louisiana, Jan. 4, 1864. 
Dear Wife, — Yours of 16th December came to hand 
yesterday. * * * And so Charley has received notice to 
hold himself in readiness for the draft. I think he ought 
not to feel a particle of solicitude on the subject. His 
condition is so well and generally known there will be no 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 287 

difficulty in establishing the fact of his deafness throughout 
his whole life ; and withal, the degree of deafness is such 
as entirely to disqualify him for military duty. No surgeon 
in the army, cognizant of his condition, would hesitate an 
instant to sign a certificate of disability. I will yet to- 
night write to Dr. Henderson in reference to Charley's 
case, tho' I think he knows all about it. 

I presume from your mention of the Doctor in the con- 
nection you did, he is examining surgeon of the district. 
Whilst I do not advise Charley to volunteer, I say to him, 
if the worst comes to the worst, and he happens to be 
drafted, meet the event like a true man, and let no rebel 
or rebel sympathizer imagine for a moment that he shrinks 
from duty. 

Previous to Colonel Lindsey's resignation I had some 
thought of tendering my own, and since have entertained 
the same feelings, but have delayed to do so because of a 
promise the Colonel voluntarily made to me, that if, on 
his return to Kentucky he found the position of Surgeon- 
General of the State vacant — and he believed it to be so — 
he would make the effort to procure the appointment for 
me. It would be an honorable manner of retiring from 
active service and grateful to my feelings. I have not 
mentioned this before, because I did not wish to create 
hopes which might not be fulfilled. I have heard nothing 
direct from the Colonel but have written to him and am in 
daily expectation of a letter from him on the subject. Now 
I have said all this, only to say further, that if the appoint- 
ment is tendered me I will not accept until I know the 
result in Charley's case, and if he is not exempted, and 
should be drafted, I may then be able to secure him a 
situation as clerk in the Adjutant's office, or in an emer- 
gency secure his appointment as orderly to regimental head- 
quarters — in the even! that he selects the 22d as his regi- 
ment. The first position would only give him desk work, 



288 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

which he could very well do ; the latter would keep him 
a good deal in the saddle, but is an easy position for a 
soldier. But allow me to repeat, I do not entertain a 
doubt of his unquestionable right to exemption. 
Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



Plaquemine, Louisiana, Jan. 9, 1864. 

Dear Wife, — I received yours of December 18th just 
now, and am in such good humor over the very high com- 
pliment you pay my epistolary efforts that I can't resist the 
inclination to lather away and say something at the first 
opportunity. 

And so you could find nothing in all my letters to con- 
demn except my instructions to you to direct yours "via" 
(by way of) New Orleans. Well, if it were before me I 
doubt not I could pick a dozen flaws much graver than 
that. But as you seem willing to take it as you took me 
" for better and for worser, " I don't know that I have 
much right to complain on that score. 

As we are engaged in a little critical excursion, allow me 
to draw your attention to one word in the English language 
which you abuse most unmercifully, so much so that I feel 
compelled, as a true Knight to enter the lists in its defence. 
I allude to that "that" that you keep all the time on the 
nib of your pen, that you may press it into this service, 
that service, and every service that that miserable conjunc- 
tion can be made to perform. I know but one apology for 
you; you are naturally inclined to conjunctions of the con- 
junctive mood or order — at least they slip from your pen 
much more glibly than the disjunctive order. I know that 
you will profit by my suggestions, and I will feel much 
hurt if you do not make due acknowledgments; that much 
I feel that I am entitled to. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 289 

As I promised in my last, I wrote to Dr. Henderson in 
reference to Charley's case, but I learn from your last he is 
not examining surgeon for drafted men for the district. I 
don't know who is, but I suppose the Doctor will hand 
him my letter. 

Orders came yesterday evening to Col. Sheldon to hold 
two of the regiments here in readiness to be forwarded to 
New Orleans, some say to be used there as provost guard, 
others, to be mounted as cavalry and sent to Texas. We 
do not yet know which of the regiments will certainly be 
selected, but the 7th Kentucky will be one and the choice 
for the other lies between the 120th Ohio, and the 22d 
Kentucky. Sheldon's regiment, the 42d Ohio, will of 
course remain so long as he retains command of the post. 

I feel decided repugnance to going to a large city. At 
such points troops always dissipate so much that it doubles a 
surgeon's duties, and with our armies there seems to be no 
method to restrain the men. I much prefer Texas to New 
Orleans; notwithstanding it would take me much further 
from home. But if the regiment is mounted and sent out 
as cavalry you may look for me home soon. That service 
is much more laborious than the infantry, and I am not 
willing to submit to it, nor do I think government has any 
just right to require me to act as a cavalry officer after 
commissioning me in the infantry. If the lot falls on the 
22d you shall have notice at the earliest possible moment. 

Tell me in the future who in Boone are the skulkers, and 
who have gone over the border. They ought to be impaled 
and held up to the scorn and contempt of the country. 

Dr. Manfred is now making an effort for a furlough ; if 
he succeeds I will send by him the gold pen I promised to 
Kate. Love to all with kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



290 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Plaquemine, Louisiana, Jan. 14, 1864. 

Dear Wife, — A mail came in this morning, but nothing 
for me, not even a newspaper. I, however, ought not to 
complain, as recently letters have come pretty regularly, if 
not as speedily as desired. 

Thus far the winter here has been the coldest experi- 
enced since 1823 ; so say the oldest citizens. Snow fell 
during the holidays which lay on the ground for a full 
week and each morning we had ice almost firm enough to 
bear my weight. The orange and banana trees are be- 
lieved to be all killed by the cold snap. The latter can be 
replaced in two years, but the former will require ten or 
twelve years to bring them to the fruit-bearing age. All 
the tender flowering shrubs and vines have shared the 
same fate ; among which are the oleanders and japonicas, 
a loss only inferior to that of the delicious fruits named. 

I said to you in my last that we would probably be or- 
dered from this point soon, and now to show you the 
uncertainty of military life Col. Sheldon this morning re- 
ceived notice from department headquarters that he might 
rest easy, and that all the regiments here would be retained 
during the winter. But since I began my letter at eight 
p. m. the regiment has orders to be in readiness to take 
boat at a minute's notice. We understand Baton Rouge 
to be our destination, as some threatening demonstrations 
have been made against it. I have but to say that in my 
judgment it is a false alarm, and amounts only to a scare. 
If we go this will be left behind to be mailed, and wher- 
ever and whenever we sit down you shall have early no- 
tice. 

Worthington and Manfred are both in New Orleans 
seeking leaves of absence for Kentucky. The former in 
consequence of the death of his wife's father, who was in 
the Colonel's absence managing his farm. He was home in 
August last, and I doubt his obtaining the leave. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 291 

I sent to Willie last week several numbers of the Picket 
Post, a little paper gotten up by the printer boys of the 
22d Kentucky. I furnished an article for each number 
for publication, which I marked in the numbers sent, and 
will do so in the future if we remain. The number for 
this week has a well matured article from the pen of Col. 
Sheldon. Read it. 

The weariness of long days and nights in a post like this 
you can't realize. Soldiers can't carry many books with 
them because of their weight, and I don't relish much 
the games at cards or chess. I have a copy of Shake- 
speare, but the print is too fine for night reading, so I am 
debarred that pleasure, and I still have the bible which I 
took with me from home when I entered the service, but 
that also is in fine print. You have known me as a rather 
bad bible reader, but now I am prepared to say that the 
bible and Shakespeare grow better the more they are read. 
Newspapers \ get about three times a week, but they are a 
costly luxury. I bought to-day one number of the New 
York Times, and two numbers of the Army and Navy Ga- 
zette, the three costing me sixty cents. My newspapers 
cost me about one dollar fifty cents per week, but I can't 
do without them, dear as they are. 

It seems you permitted Julia to return home at Christ- 
mas all alone : it is more than you would have done at her 
age. Did Kate go to Georgetown as she expected to do ? 
I really think she might write to me. It is now almost 
four and a half months since I left home and in that time 
I have received from her but two letters. I will stop or 
you will think me very blue, as I have only complaints to 
make. After our cold snap it set in to rain, and it seemed 
as if the bottom had been knocked out of the clouds for 
the last five days, and the murky, misty, foggy, sloppy, 
gloomy, sunless weather and muddy roads, confining me to 
quarters, have probably soured my temper. 

Love to all, with kisses to the children. 

Yours truly, 



292 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Jan. 16, 1864. 

Dear Wife, — We reached this post at eight o'clock last 
evening and quartered during the night in the city theater.' 
We are now at ten a. m. waiting the coming up of our 
tents, on ground in the suburbs of the city. The change 
is to me most agreeable, as we left a locality of swamp and 
mud for one that is high and dry. 

The day is brilliant with sunshine, which after two 
weeks of cloud and rain and slop and fog, makes one en- 
joy it all the more. I am now sitting out in the open air 
in the midst of an active bustling scene, witnessing the 
pitching of the tents of the regiment, and waiting for the 
coming up of mine. I took a stroll this morning through 
the camps of some New York regiments, and was met by 
the Colonel of one of them, and invited to his tent; intro- 
duced to his mess and staff and treated with much courtesy 
and hospitality; all of which made me relish the change 
still more. * * * My pencil writes so badly, I will stop 
and resume in the future. * * * 

Monday Morning, 18//z. 

I stopped my writing Saturday because I had nothing to 
say worth saying, and further because I wanted to enjoy 
the genial warmth of the sun unvexed with any epistolary 
cares. And so having delayed I concluded to wait for the 
mail due last evening. It came, but in it nothing for me. 
The disappointment is always great when I find letters 
from all portions of Kentucky except Burlington. 

I have here for the first time since entering the service, 
met New York and Massachusetts troops, and I have been 
treated with more courtesy by them, than I have elsewhere, 
and from other troops received. I mean by officers. They 
may have been more courteous from the fact that our 
regiments, 7th and 22d, are the first Kentucky troops they 
have met. The eastern beat western troops a long way in 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 293 

fixing up comfortably in their tents. All the western troops 
with whom we have heretofore met have been engaged in 
active campaigning, marching and fighting, and they have 
had but little time to devote to comfort, but here I find one 
Massachusetts regiment that has been stationary for near 
twelve months, and a New York regiment almost as long. 

Baton Rouge had the reputation before the war of be- 
ing the prettiest little city in the State, but I am disap- 
pointed with it. The State has in its limits much finer 
towns. Franklin, on the Teche, is in my judgment much 
its superior. We have, however, reached here at the 
most unfavorable period of the year for the display of its 
most attractive features. 

I told you in my last the cost of my indulgence in the 
daily papers. I have now to tell you what Sumner thinks 
a good thing in that connection. On our way here from 
Plaquemine I said to him I would have to curtail some in 
that line of expense, when he said to me: "I never hear 
you complain of the cost of food for your stomach, and I 
think you should not for the cost of food for your brain. " 
Now for what he thinks the cream of the joke. On our 
way up I met with a Dr. Stone of Pennsylvania, en-route 
to Fort Hudson to take position as a contract surgeon, and 
I found him a pleasant social gentleman. Whilst Colonel 
Monroe was making his report to General Cook, I proposed 
to the Doctor a stroll through the town, and after we had 
passed over most of the business portion of the town, and 
when returning to the boat I asked him to step into a saloon 
and have a glass of wine with me. It was supplied in the 
smallest stem glasses I ever saw, so small that a single glass 
barely tasted and I ordered a second for each, and expecting 
to pay forty cents for all, I laid a dollar bill on the counter, 
when the bar tender dropped the amount in the till with 
the remark ' ' all right. " Now Sumner says if I can pay a 
dollar for such a momentary gratification I can still afford 
to take the papers, and I will have to submit. 



294 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

The city is situated on a bluff of moderate elevation, but 
above any floods in the river, and begins to look dilapi- 
dated, as most of the houses are built of wood, and have not 
been repaired or repainted since the war began. The State 
Capitol and the State Lunatic Asylum are both located 
here, and were in external appearance stately looking 
edifices, but the former was burned in 1862, leaving only 
the bare walls standing, and the latter has been appropri- 
ated to use as a military hospital, and the neglect and abuse 
incident to its present use have impaired its appearance 
some. The Surgeon in charge informed me that the build- 
ing is badly constructed and every way unsuited for its 
original purpose, and a dangerous fire trap withal. 

Love to all with kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Jan. 25, 1864. 

Dear Wife, — I received by the mail of Friday night your 
letter of the 30th December, together with one from Kate 
with Mr. Lewis' note enclosed. Theirs has been answered 
and now a word to you. * * * I was sorry to learn 
of your continued illness, and on receipt of your letter 
I commenced action at once tendering a resignation. The 
letter prepared I have withheld, under the advice of the 
Senior Surgeon of the post, until one of the assistant sur- 
geons of the regiment can reach here. Dr. Manfred is 
now in Kentucky on sick-leave, and Dr. Davidson is on 
duty with the 16th Ohio in Texas. An official order from 
Col. Monroe has gone on to Davidson directing him to 
rejoin his regiment immediately, and as soon as he reaches 
us I will send my papers through. 

If an important military move were about to commence 
when my papers reach headquarters, they would be re- 
tained until after its close. And indeed I have been so 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 295 

decided in condemning officers for tendering resignations 
just on the eve of active operations, that I would feel 
great reluctance to drop out of line at such a time. You 
see I am candid with you and anxious to have you under- 
stand any probable or possible grounds on which I may be 
detained. 

The last four or five days have been glorious, balmy, 
sunshiny, all that any one could ask or desire in winter. 
Clear, brilliant days, with beautiful moon-light nights, just 
cool enough to prevent the too early expansion of the fruit 
buds and the flowers. 

I hope to receive letters from you frequently, and to 
have a better report as to the state of your health, but in 
any event my decision is made. My tendered resignation 
shall go through, and I am of opinion my case is so clear 
as to warrant me in saying that in a brief period I will be 
out of service. Love to all, with kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Jan. 29, 1864. 

Dear Wife, — I have the opportunity to send you a few 
lines and but few, as the boat is just ready to leave for 
New Orleans, and this I send by private hands to be 
mailed at that point. 

I wrote to you four days since on the reception of Kate's 
last, in which I said what action I had taken. 'Tis the last 
straw that breaks the camel's back. You know that for 
six months I have desired to retire from service, but the 
emergencies of the regiment have prevented my doing so, 
but now all considerations must give way before your fail- 
ing health. 

I will keep you advised of the progress of affairs, and 
let you know at the earliest moment the conclusions 



296 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

reached. Many kisses to the children, and my unfailing 
regards to yourself. Remember me to enquiring friends. 
Yours truly, 



Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Feb. 3, 1864. 

Dear Daughter, — Yours of the 10th January came to 
hand yesterday, and I must compliment you on your im- 
provement in "pen-womanship." You have laid aside all 
your flourishes, and now, he who runs may read. You 
say you think the flourishes the prettiest part of your writ- 
ing, but if you get to be as old as I am, you will desire to 
have everything made as plain as possible. Johnny may 
fancy such things ; young men are apt to appreciate the 
flourishes of their lady-loves at a higher rate than old 
fogies like me, or than the world at large. 

My first papers tendering a resignation were returned 
to me yesterday "Disapproved," but with permission to 
renew the tender "In form." You may think me very 
dull when after twenty-eight months' service I have not 
learned the proper "form" fordoing such a thing; this, 
however, was my first essay in that line. 

Commanders of departments control details in these 
matters, and changes in department regulations so fre- 
quently occur, that it is somewhat difficult to catch up, and 
keep up with them. I sometimes think them made with- 
out reference to the public good, but to render resignations 
more difficult, and thus deter men from tendering them. 
The return of my papers will not, however, delay my case 
a day, as there is ample time between this and the first of 
M^rch for the authorities to act, and that is the earliest 
date at which I could get out with justice to the regiment 
and myself. The close of this month completes another 
pay period. I suppose the two last months' pay will be 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 297 

withheld until my accounts are overhauled at Washington 
and it may be years before it will be settled. 

My tent here is pitched under a large magnolia tree, and 
its spreading branches, clothed in verdure, gives shelter to 
a number of birds, and among them a pair of mocking 
birds that make night vocal with their songs. On moon- 
light nights there is scarce any intermission. An hour be- 
fore dawn seems to be their only time for sleep. 

If they are now having their honeymoon, and are get- 
ting ready for the period of incubation, I would suggest to 
them, could I make them understand my lingo only as 
well as I understand theirs, some lines from Poet Cowper : 

" Misses ! the tale that I relate 

This lesson seems to carry — 
Choose not alone a proper mate, 

But proper time to marry." 

With your letter came one from Julia also ; written in 
Georgetown Jan. 16th, and reaching me in less time by 
several days than any previous communication from Ken- 
tucky. It augurs well. Erelong the "Father of Waters" 
will be permitted to pursue his course to the sea unvexed 
by the rage of man. Commerce and the mails will resume 
their wonted regularity soon, and by and by prosperity 
and happiness will again revisit this distracted region. 

I will not write again to your mother until I hear from 
her, which I certainly expect to do by our next mail. You 
say but little of her condition which I think a good indica- 
tion that she is better than when you wrote before. I 
doubt the propriety of your addressing any letters to me in 
the South after the reception of this ; the private letters for 
me reaching the regiment will be forwarded to me in Ken- 
tucky. 

The weather here continued vernal, almost summer-like, 
during the past ten days, but last night a cold snap came 
on with a norther, which makes everybody feel it acutely. 

20 



298 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

When we reached Baton Rouge, officers generally sought 
houses, many being at that time vacant, but families have 
since been pouring in and reclaiming their homes, so that 
now all of us have betaken ourselves to tents. Many of 
the houses have but a single flue and fire-place, and I slept 
for two nights in a room without fire before fleeing to my 
tent, but with a fire-place I find my tent much the more 
comfortable home. Warm as the days have been, it was 
still too cold at night to be without fire. 

I gave you the price of eatables at Plaquemine. I do the 
same for this place. Beef— very poor and lean — thirty 
cents per pound ; hams, same price ; butter, seventy-five 
cents per pound; eggs, same per dozen; milk, twenty 
cents per quart ; potatoes — Irish — eight and a third cents 
per pound ; turnips, three for a dime ; cabbage, one dime 
a head — and small heads at that ; no chickens ; hens, one 
dollar each ; turkeys, three to five dollars each, according 
to size and quality. 

Government, however, supplies the substantials of life 
cheap enough, and it is wonderful to find how limited our 
real wants are. 

Much love and many kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Feb. 8, 1864. 

Dear Wife, — Yours of 18th January reached me this 
morning, and I am sorry to find you still so apprehen- 
sive in regard to your health. My former letters will have 
explained before this reaches you my action as soon as I 
found how serious your fears are. 

In consequence of the absence of Dr. Manfred, I could 
not, consistently with my duty to the regiment, propose to 
retire before he had notice of my intention to do so, and 
had an opportunity to reach the regiment and assume my 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 299 

place. Nor would a resignation tendered immediately and 
absolutely have hastened my arrival at home more than ten 
days or two weeks at the very best, and then at great in- 
convenience in the subsequent settlement of my accounts. 
* * * I hope when I reach home to find you much 
better than your fears would lead one to expect. 

If my horse has not been sold, forbid the sale, as I would 
have to buy another, and probably at a higher price than 
you mentioned as offered for him, and then not secure one 
to suit me so well as he does. 

Papers from the North come laden with dismal stories of 
the cold of the present winter. I have in former letters 
mentioned the cold weather of this section, but it has been 
nothing to compare with the cold of your latitude. There 
has been no time here that one could not be entirely com- 
fortable in tents with fire-places in them; indeed, they 
make decidedly comfortable houses if gotten up inside with 
taste and an eye to convenience. 

The weather just now is grand ; all we could ask it to be ; 
just cool enough to require a little fire during the day, and 
at night, with the closing up of my tent and a rousing fire, 
I lack nothing but the presence of wife, children, and 
friends, to make me cheerful and happy. 

You mentioned Edward Parrish in your last letter. 
Where is he now, and how engaged ? I have heard noth- 
ing definite from him since we parted in the neighborhood 
of Vicksburg, twelve months since. Though I need not 
to have asked these questions, as I will be at home before 
an answer to them could possibly reach me here.* 

Love to all, and say to Cora for me, that I will have the 
tip off her tongue when I get home, and then she will be 
able to say how much she loves me; tell her also that papa 
has not forgotten the shells and other pretty things promised 
to her. 

Kind regards to enquiring friends. 

Yours truly, 



300 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

* Poor fellow, no sadder fate befell any one of the hosts of men 
who consented to peril life, and perchance lay it down, that the 
nation might live, than he. In the summer of 1861, then in his 
nineteenth year, he dropped from the head of his college classes, 
abandoned a home of affluence and ease, and enlisted as a private 
soldier in the 1st Kentucky Cavalry. The close of the war found 
him in command of his Company, a position won alone by his 
sterling worth and merit. 

He fell a victim to the private cupidity or criminal indifference 
to the sanctity of human life of some Quartermaster at Vicksburg, 
who, in the summer of 1865, after the last rebel army had surren- 
dered, crowded on the ill-fated steamer, "The Sultana," thrice 
the number of men it had the capacity to bear. He was engaged 
from first to last in forty skirmishes and battles, and passed through 
them all unscathed by shot, shell, or sabre. The boat sank at the 
wharf with three or four hundred men on board, most of whom 
perished, he among them. He was brim full of the genius of com- 
mon sense. 

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Feb. 17, 1864. 
Dear Delia, — Yours of January 28th came to hand yes- 
terday, by way of Burlington. I owe you an apology for 
not having given you my address before this time. I hope 
you will pardon the oversight. Regiments in the field are 
generally so constantly on the pad, that like Paddy's flea, 
when you go to put your finger on them they are " not thar." 
Allow me, however, to suggest that I usually do head my 
letters with the then present camp, but I understand the 
difficulty; you are so eager to "gobble up" — that is the 
military phrase — the delectable contents of my most ravish- 
ing epistles, that you have no eye for the headings. There- 
fore I say here in the body of this one that I am in the City 
of Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana, and where, sure 
enough, your response will not find me, because, unlike 
the aforesaid flea, it is not possible for me to be in two 
places at the same time. Nay, nay, but I am such a flea, 
that before your answer can possibly reach me here, I will 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 301 

flee away, and the place that knoweth me now will probably 
know me no more again forever. 

For the past two months all the letters received by me 
from Burlington have concurred in representing the health 
of your aunt Lida as so precarious, that I have felt it a duty 
to my family to tender a resignation. Now don't go into 
ecstacies at the thought that I am to be entirely out of serv- 
ice. With my views of duty, every citizen in this grave 
crisis of the country, should do all that in him lies to aid 
the government ; therefore, I can't reconcile it to myself to 
remain at home unless the condition of my family impera- 
tively demands me to do so. 

Each day's observation but strengthens and deepens the 
convictions of my mind that there is no safety, or repose, 
or truce, or peace for this vast country against desolating 
and perpetually recurring wars, short of the utter and 
thorough extirpation of rebellion, root and branch, bud and 
flower, so that no seminal germ of it may ever sprout again. 
There you have in epitome my whole view of the contest, 
and the duty of loyal men, and I am not disposed to en- 
force on others a duty from which I will myself shrink. 

Baton Rouge, before the war, had the credit of being 
the prettiest city in the State, and it was generally charac- 
terized as the " City of Groves." I can very well under- 
stand why the people south of it were partial to it. It is 
built on the first high land from the mouth of the Missis- 
sippi River. You may readily conceive how tired the eye 
becomes in constantly looking on a level blank of water and 
plain, and with how much rapture they first behold ' ' a city 
set upon a hill," and then, too, the magnificent groves of 
magnolias, which embowered it in shade, aided in the 
pleasing optical effect. But the contending hosts have 
swept them all away. The protection they afforded the 
rebel army in their attack on the town in 1862, came very 
near occasioning its capture; they, therefore, fell before a 



302 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

military necessity. And it will require fifty years of peace, 
with all its arts, and labors, and expenditures, to restore 
the city to its primal beauty. 

You ask how I spend my time. Well, I will give you an 
outline of daily duties, and one day with another is pretty 
much the same. I am on light duty at present as there is 
but little sickness in camp. The first duty of the day is to 
attend what in military parlance is known as "surgeons' 
call," which we have at six in the morning. To-day twenty- 
two men were examined and prescribed for. The next 
duty is to make out the morning report for the Adjutant 
of the regiment, and a copy of the same for the Senior Sur- 
geon of the post. These duties are generally through with 
before breakfast; after which a walk through the grounds 
to see that they are properly policed and free from garbage. 
Surgeons have no right to give an order outside their hos- 
pitals, yet they are held responsible for the proper sanitary 
condition of camp grounds, but a notice to the officer of 
the day of any wrong exonerates them from censure. At 
noon at the office to see if all prescriptions have been prop- 
erly filled. 

I generally find an hour in the morning to read the pa- 
pers of the day. During the afternoons I take my daily 
ride, and this I am pretty apt to do, rain or shine, and if 
it be rain, the ride is all the harder for it. Reports out of 
regular order I make when the demand for them arises. 

After night I attend to my miscellaneous correspondence. 
I write six or seven letters a week. My general reading is 
confined to the bible, Shakespeare, and Webster's Diction- 
ary. You can have no idea how much trouble I have 
with my spelling, nor how much you are under obligation 
to me for writing, when it is so much labor for me to do 
so. And then having filled my sheet with twaddle and 
nonsense, I gaze through my double eyes into the fire and 
indulge in "reveries-" see fiery spirits dance and skip 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 303 

among the glowing coals ; build fantastic castles in imagi- 
nation ; revel in mystic dreams of future bliss, but by and 
by have it all dashed to the ground by catching a glimpse 
over my media of second sight when, whew ! I find I am 
only a gray-bearded, gray-headed, wrinkled old codger 
who had probably much better been stowed comfortably 
away at home 

" Safe by an ingle bleezing finely" 

than to be thus engaged inditing nonsense to you. 
Love to all. 

Yours truly, 



P. S. I forgot in the body of my letter to say that I am 
well, but I will manage on this free margin to say it for fear 
you will think I have a sickly imagination. Well, well, I 
am just as well as an "old feller" can well afford to be 
living on Cod fish and potatoes, pickled beef and army 
bread, and if that well is not well enough for you, you 
may sink your own wells, ' ' deep as plummet ever sounded, " 
and thus may you ever have in your heart a perennial 
well-spring of joy and gladness : which endeth the chapter 
on wells. 

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Feb. 21,1864. 

Dear Wife, — Yours of the 30th January reached me on 
the 17th inst., and I would have responded sooner, but 
there has been no opportunity to forward a letter, and will 
not be until to-morrow morning, and so I concluded to 
wait until the last moment. 

In a former letter I expressed my convictions that your 
first impressions in regard to your case were wrong, and all 
my subsequent reflections have but deepened those con- 
victions, and your last set the matter at rest. Polypus 
formations are unpleasant enough certainly, but they do 



304 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

not necessarily imply a greatly depraved condition of the 
system, and are not to be regarded as indicative of malig- 
nant or fatal malady. I hope you will try to preserve 
your cheerfulness and equanimity of feeling, and take your 
usual amount of exercise out of doors, as I think that ne- 
cessary to your health and general welfare. 

I have not yet heard officially from my papers, but learned 
yesterday, through a private source, that they had been 
forwarded to Texas for approval by the Corps Commander, 
which satisfactorily explains the delay. There are some 
things in the routine of army official life I expect never to 
become familiar with. Weeks since an order was read on 
dress parade assigning the 22d to duty with the 19th Army 
Corps; yet all resignations, discharges, and official busi- 
ness, except the mere daily duty of drawing rations, has to 
go to Texas for approval by the commander of the 13th 
Army Corps, and perhaps the latter would also but for the 
fact that a regiment would thus be starved. All this red- 
tape-ism perplexes those not familiar with details, and 
renders the service unpopular. 

I adhere still to my previously expressed intention to re- 
turn home by New York. I think your condition is not so 
urgent that a week or ten days' longer stay from home will 
be any disadvantage to you ; and I trust you will be pleased 
to have me enjoy this little self-indulgence. 

I suppose I shall not remain long enough here to receive 
a letter from you after the reception of this. I will be glad, 
however, to hear from you on my way home. You may 
direct to me at the "Atlantic Post Office," in care of the 
man in the moon, as I will be sure to meet the old fellow 
on my way home through his dominions at the period of 
spring tide in the vernal equinox. 

I have in my mind a little scheme, which I will impart 
to you in confidence. There is a breed of dogs in Boone 
that will be improved by a cross, and when I meet with the 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 305 

old codger who presides over the tides and brews storms, 
I purpose, if he does not get me down in our tussle, to 
steal his dog. Now din-na ye be tellin' the old-grey-beard 
loon what I be after, or he will cut loose the puckering 
strings of ^Eolus' wind-bags, and stir the sea into such a 
rage that it will sweep us clean off " Besouth Magellan," and 
then you will have less prospect of my speedy return home 
than if I had entered the " Veteran Reserve Corps." 

There is still another breed of dogs in Boone that 
would be improved by any cross. I allude to the dogs in 
black. But I know of no stock from which to graft a 
cross, unless it be that limned by the great master of En- 
glish Epic Poetry in the Paradise Lost. They are the 
dogs engaged in guarding the gates of Hell; and I really 
have not affection enough for the canine tribe to under- 
take a journey into the dominions of his sable majesty for 
their especial benefit. It is, however, a subject for com- 
fortable reflection to know that they are all of them on the 
right road to meet by and by, with the ancient head of all 
their house. Of the kinship and paternity of the tribes I 
think there cannot be the smallest doubt. The natural his- 
tory of the severed branches develops a characteristic trait 
which out-crops in all the progeny. It is that of embowel- 
ing themselves and preying on the vitals of their dam, and 
with horrible howlings at every alarm, and this trait is so 
characteristic of the many-headed monster, that one can- 
not resist the conviction of unity of race. I hope I won't 
be thought extremely uncharitable in wishing the progeny 
a speedy re-union with their great progenitors. 

But enough with all this badinage. I am comfortably 
well, and hope these few lines will find you enjoying the 
same blessing. 

We have had another cold snap, lasting five days, but 
just now the weather is mild as May. Love to all, with 
kisses to the young " uns." 

Yours truly, 



306 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Feb. 24,-1864. 

Dear Wife, — I received yesterday evening an answer to 
my tendered resignation. It is accepted, and at noon on 
Tuesday next I will be honorably discharged from the serv- 
ice and again a citizen. 

There seems to be some hitch in the monetary affairs of 
this department. The troops here have not been paid for 
four months, and I learned yesterday that the military 
treasury at New Orleans is just now empty. This, I very 
much fear, will interfere with my design to return North by 
sea. I retained at the last pay day what I thought a suffi- 
ciently liberal allowance for any reasonable demands, but 
the extension of the pay period from two to four months, 
together with the loan of twenty dollars to a brother officer, 
has reduced my purse to almost nothing. I made an inven- 
tory of its contents this morning and found two two-dollar 
bills and one five-cent piece; this and nothing more; and 
this, with a distance of a thousand miles between my- 
self and my home, looks a little blue. I have, however, 
one resource which will supply me with sufficient means to 
get up the river. My horse, saddle and bridle will very 
well pay my way up the Mississippi, but it compels me to 
forego a much cherished pleasure — a ride on the great 
deep. 

I will have to go to New Orleans to settle my accounts 
with the government, which will, I suppose, detain me 
several days. From this to that point and thence to Cairo, 
I am entitled to transportation from government, but the 
transport steamers are all of them in such bad condition 
and travel so slowly, I will take a regular packet at my 
own charges. It is altogether impossible for me just now 
to say when I may reach home, as I know not how long I 
may be kept waiting in the city, and then, with all the con- 
tingencies of travel, it would not be prudent to set any 
time. 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 307 

Weather warm, almost as June with you. Love to all, 
with many kisses to the children. 

Yours truly, 



New Orleans, Louisiana, March 2, 1864. 

Dear Wife, — I have, a couple of hours since, had a set- 
tlement with the Paymaster. My accounts and vouchers 
all being satisfactory, and so, all things concurring, I re- 
turn home by sea. I will not make an effort to get off until 
after the 4th, as I am anxious to witness the inaugura- 
tion of a loyal governor of Louisiana. 

I take a draft on New York instead of burthening myself 
with a great roll of greenbacks. I was paid all in small 
bills, and I could not possibly conceal or safely carry the 
amount on my person. 

I have not forgotten Cora's shells. Love to all. 
Yours truly, 



Lovejoy's Hotel, New York, March 17, 1864. 

Dear Wife, — I reached this city at noon to-day, "St. 
Pathrick's Day, all in the morning," just in time to witness 
the grandest procession I ever saw. The authorities at 
New Orleans assigned me transportation on the screw- 
propeller Charles Thompson, which left that port at noon 
on the 5th inst. 

On the 4th I witnessed the inauguration of Michael 
Hahn, of New Orleans, as civil governor of Louisiana, in 
presence of a large, and, as it seemed to me, an earnest 
and enthusiastic assemblage of citizens. 

Early on the morning of the 5th I made my way to the 
boat, but found it already crowded with soldiers. The 
11th Indiana Infantry, four hundred strong, under com- 
mand of Col. McCauley, were on their way home, taking 



308 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

the respite usually granted to re-enlisting regiments. Briga- 
dier-General McGinnis, a former commander of the regi- 
ment, was also on board, on furlough home. 

At Key West we were detained two days until the author- 
ities there could make proper provision to take care of a 
case of small-pox, which had been smuggled on the ship at 
New Orleans. Availing myself of the detention, and ac- 
companied by a gentleman from Maine, we footed the 
island in all its length and breadth, and I must say I would 
not relish a home on it. It is barely redeemed from the 
se'a, and to me it seemed that at some time a high rolling 
wave might submerge the entire island. 

Fort Taylor, a casemated brick structure of large dimen- 
sions, was some years since built out of the sea on an arti- 
ficial foundation constructed by the government. It com- 
mands both town and harbor, and is connected with the 
island by a causeway constructed at the same time, which 
serves the double purpose of causeway and breakwater, to 
protect the town and harbor from the surging waves of the 
Gulf of Mexico. 

General Woodbury, of the regular army, we found in 
command of the. post, and General McGinnis sent in his 
card and in return was invited, with the officers of the regi- 
ment, to visit the post, and Gen. McGinnis was kind enough 
to ask me to accompany them. I had detailed to me whilst 
in the fort a little incident which interested me very much. 
When secession began, Fort Taylor was under command 
of an officer loyal to the nation. And when Florida passed 
her ordinance of secession, and the telegrams announced 
the fact to the citizens of Key West, all the sympathizers 
with secession — and almost all of them were so — unfurled 
rebel flags and hoisted them on their houses. The com- 
mandant of the fort promptly notified the municipal au- 
thorities of the town, that if, at the end of two hours' time, 
one single rebel flag was visible, he would turn the guns of 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 309 

the fort on it. It is hardly necessary to say that since that 
day such a thing has not been openly displayed in the town. 

The weather most of the time, from Key West to this 
city, was serene and clear, and the sea calm. Off Cape 
Hatteras, however, it was a little boisterous, but not enough 
so to drive me to the cabin, and morning and evening of 
each day I took my seat at the bow for a swing, which I 
found positively exhilarating. Gen. McGinnis, however, 
was sea-sick all the way round, and declared that no con- 
siderations should ever again tempt him out of sight of 
land. As far as I could learn, I alone of all the "land 
lubbers " failed to pay tribute to the Trident; but morning, 
noon and night I dispatched my full allowance of "grub' 7 
without any squeamishness. 

Last night we lay thumping, thumping, thumping, at 
anchor off Sandy Hoook, in a fog bank thick enough and 
black enough — 

"To botde up and sell as Tyrean dye." 

At every surge of the sea, the noise overhead sounded like 
the pattering of a hundred men with muffled feet running 
from side to side of the boat. 

The morning opened out grandly, and we made our 
way through the narrows and to our position in the harbor 
on a day of most brilliant sunshine, and in full view of a 
panorama rarely equalled, and I think not to be surpassed 
on the globe. 

I will remain here until Monday or Tuesday next; 
thence to Philadelphia for two days; to Baltimore for one 
day ; to Washington for three or four days, and from there 
home by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. I hope to see 
you during the first week of April. 

Love to all, and kisses to the children. 
Yours truly, 



310 LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 

The end draweth nigh, and in approaching it I cannot 
forbear to quote the closing paragraph of General Lindsey's 
final report as Adjutant General of the State of Kentucky. 
As applicable to military operations everywhere, it is a gem 
of thought and of philosophy of enduring worth : 

"While I am more than gratified to have been able to 
place the record of our soldiery during the war in this 
permanent and lasting form, and convenient of access to 
all, I am more than proud of the honor reflected upon the 
loyalty, patriotism and glory of our State by the record. 
For when we reflect that the officer, as well as the soldier, 
is almost powerless to choose his place or opportunity ; 
that the merit of having done one's whole duty to brother 
soldiers and comrades, and to the Nation ; of having held 
one's command in such a State, that if at any given mo- 
ment it was not performing some brilliant achievement, it 
might have been, is that substantial triumph which every 
faithful soldier should desire, that the obscurer duty may 
be the more substantial honor. There are few exceptions 
to the fact that our noble State furnished true^soldiers and 
reliable officers, not surpassed by any." 

THE END. 

Man in the abstract, however relatively great he may 
have been, and man in the aggregate, all of them, North, 
South, East and West, engaged in the mighty conflict 
through which the Nation was called to struggle up into 
the light of liberty, of justice, and of right, were but blind, 
unconscious agents and instrumentalities of 

" That God which ever lives and loves, 

One God, one law, one element, 

And one far-off divine event 
To which the whole creation moves." 



LETTERS FROM THE ARMY. 311 



APPENDIX. 

Mt. Vernon, Ohio, May 8, 1884. 

Dear Sir, — During my absence from home in the latter 
part of January last, a letter was received from you, which 
I find filed away with other papers. I am not able to refer 
you to any report in which the 22d Ky. was specially 
named. I have always regarded the 22d Ky. as one of 
the best drilled and disciplined volunteer regiments in the 
service. On every occasion it proved to be worthy of 
the flag under which it marched and fought. Colonel D. 
W. Lindsey was an officer of skill and courage, and at Post 
Arkansas his command rendered distinguished service. It 
was his guns which enfiladed the enemy's trenches and 
filled them with dead, and it was the same guns which de- 
stroyed the Confederate light battery, which had caused 
us the loss of many valuable lives. 

I cherish the memory of the 22d Kentucky, and indeed 
of all the Kentucky troops which served with me. They 
were good soldiers and deserve the gratitude of the country. 

You are fresh in my memory, and I cordially salute you. 
GEORGE W. MORGAN. 

Dr. B. F. Stevenson. 



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